


I Swear to You

by AlyxRae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: :D, Allura and Lance are Siblings, Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Galra Keith (Voltron), I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, I'm mean to these precious babes, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Mistakes, Mutual Pining, blade of marmora, here comes the angst train, i promise there is going to be a happy ending, i think that counts, keith is lance's bodyguard, klangst, made up quintessence science, more canon than you think, the last chapter is basically tooth rotting fluff, this is gonna be a ride, unspoken feelings, voltron does exisit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-10-27 02:45:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 123,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10800072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyxRae/pseuds/AlyxRae
Summary: With the destruction of their home planet, the remaining Galra are forced to take refuge with the kind Alteans. Much darker plans begin to take shape and a young Galra solider is made the bodyguard of the Altean Prince, with orders to kill him when the time is right. However, the charming prince manages to capture the Galra's heart and ends up being captivated by the solider in return.The prince and the bodyguard are thrown into perilous adventures, all the while trying to stay together and keep each other safe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely love the whole Galra Keith and Altean Prince Lance idea. And one day, while I was daydreaming, I came up with this story. Now it's going to start pretty fluffy and also pretty ordinary (ie: similar to a lot of these fics floating around) BUT I think I've come up with some stuff that will be exciting :)
> 
> Also this is extremely different from my previous fic when it comes to my writing style. It won't be as funny or I guess you could say 'light hearted' as Say the Word and I'm kind excited about that challenge. 
> 
> Anyway's, I hope this is a good start because I'm really excited to dive into this weird AU I've developed. If you have any questions, anything you need clarfied (cause i might not do a good job in the actual text), please ask!
> 
> ENJOY

The Galra were strong. The Galra were fierce. The Galra would one day rule all. At least, that’s how it used to be. Constant expansion and renovations to their own planet caused irreversible damage. Natural resources were dried up to be used in their military advancements. All the land was eaten up by factories and labs, creating drones to help them raid nearby systems efficiently, and the people suffered.

Of better yet, the citizens suffered. Soldiers were valuable, broken down and molded into perfect warriors to fight and die for their ruler. Contrary to what many believe, not all Galra have a lust for war and destruction. Those who wished to live peaceful lives were cast out and left to live on the fringes of civilization.

That is until the planet decided to reject them.

He still remembers that day. The day his home planet began to collapse around them. Being amongst the palace guards, his safety was assured. There was no way the Emperor would stand for one on his fighters to be lost to the fires. But as he followed his commander to the spectacle that was Emperor Zakon’s ship, he couldn’t help but think of all of those being left behind.

The children. The mothers. The men who just wanted to live in harmony. All of that, all of the peaceful and good Galra were lost to the burning planet, and no one seemed to care. He watched, utterly alone, as the only redeemable part of his race was destroyed.

“Kivach. Time to rotate.” His ear twitched toward the sound, one bright amber eye focused on the new arrival that drew him out of his recollection. He really didn’t want to leave. The control room was a live wire of energy as they slowly began to approach the planet of Altea.

From his spot by the door, Kivach could see the view screens displaying a plethora of information along with a picture of the planet.  It was so unlike his home.

Altea was a pearly white color, with streaks of blue and silver running across the surface. It was larger than most, with vast untouched lands that flourished underneath glimmering sun. It was a thriving planet home to a very advance race of people who also knew to protect the ground they called home. If only his people were the same.

Kivach nodded to his replacement, looking at the time they had left before reaching Altea. Merely a seven hour wait. It worked out well, seeing that Kivach only slept for about four hours anyway. A solider to his core, he was always prepared for the next fight.

The doors slid open silently as Kivach made his way through the twisting corridors of the royal ship. Its size and grandeur did nothing to hide the fact that it still was a battle ship. It housed countless smaller fighter ships, a colorful armory with various weapons, and multiple cannons mounted on the outer hull.

Why the king of Altea was welcoming them with open arms was beyond him.

Out of the snippets of conversations Kivach was able to eavesdrop on, it sounded as though the Emperor had in fact contacted the king.  Looking for a refuge for the small number of Galra who managed to escape the destruction of their planet, King Alfor wasn’t hard to convince. Kivach was able to catch the end of their conversation in the control room when he rotated in for his shift. While it would be nice to breathe natural air instead of the machine generated kind, Kivach couldn’t figure out what would drive his leader to request something like this from an enemy.

Because, as it was drilled into him during his training, all other species were enemies. To see the leader of his race bend so easily was a shock. Which of course, made him think that there was something else going on behind the scenes.

Through the maze of halls, Kivach finally made it to his own quarters. It was one of many rooms that all looked and felt exactly the same. He placed his clawed hand on the pad just to the left of the door and watched as it scanned his hand print. The door slid open moments later and the lights inside flickered on.

He never understood the purpose for the security. It’s not like any of them had anything in these rooms. It was just a place to sleep and recharge for the next long day.

Without bothering to change out of his uniform, Kivach flopped on the stiff bed clearing his mind of any and all strange thoughts. It was forbidden for a solider of any rank to question the decisions made by their leader. Even thinking about possible motives for the emperors actions made him feel uncomfortable.

Kivach closed his eyes, willing sleep to come swiftly. It felt like only a few mintues had passed before the speaker in his room began blaring.

_‘Entering Altea atmosphere. All personal report to the bridge for instruction’_

Kivach was up in an instant, smoothing his wild dark hair back in a more uniform manner. Along with his shorter stature, Kivach’s dark purple hair was another oddity that he had to learn to deal with. It was nearly black in some light and grew into a wild mane the dipped just passed his shoulder. Truthfully, he quiet liked the way it looked. But it made him stand out which made both growing up and his training more difficult.

Once his hair was slicked back and out of his eyes, Kivach walked swiftly to the bridge. Turning a few corners, other Galra soldiers began appearing beside him. All of who were heading the same way.

The bridge was void of all talk, the only sound coming from shuffling feet and the constant hum of the ship around them. It was a large space with raised platform near the front. The space was used for moments like this, when the Emperor wanted to address his entire army at once and in person.

Kivach took his place next to an older Galra officer, someone who he could never consider a friend but a comforting presence none the less. Thace was present during most of Kivach’s training as a young pup, silently watching while he was being put through hell. On one or two occasions, after being thrown across the room by an older more experience fighter; Thace would pick him up, brush him off and send him back into the fray. It was the only remotely supportive contact he had during that time.

Thace was a good head taller than the young Galra, but by no means was he the tallest. Galra were giant predators who perfected the balance between natural skill and technological aid. There were a few in this room that reached over seven feet tall, not including the Emperor himself.

Just then, there was a whoosh as the doors on the platform slid open. The first to enter was the Prince, Lotor. A strange and somewhat flamboyant creature, Lotor looked nothing like his father. The bastard Prince had no shame in that knowledge and fully understood that his father wanted little to do with him. But with the fall of their home planet, Lotor’s small fleet was called back and joined forces with his father. After all, the only Galra left in the universe were scattered between several massive starships and a cluster of smaller cruisers.

The sudden drop in his race’s population should have been more jarring, but Kivach was taught not to care.

The next person who entered was the witch Hagger. The strange leader of the Druids always managed to make his ears twitch. Her small frame hide her enormous and chilling power that was nothing short of terrifying. From what he gathered, Hagger hadn’t always been at the Emperor’s right hand. She emerged only recently and had since become a figure to the Galra as one of the most powerful of all of them.

Last was the emperor himself, Zarkon. To say he was intimidating would be the cruelest understatement. His broad shoulders were widened by the heavy looking armor laying on them, his pointed and sharp features set in a permeant look of distain. He towered over Hagger, over Lotor. His presence immediately caused the whole room to hold their breath.

The resounding boom of Zarkon’s steps echoed against the metal bridge. He came to a stop at the edge of the platform, staring down at his troops.

“King Alfor of the planet Altea has offered to accommodate all Galra on his planet after the destruction of our own. His Majesty is going to provide food, shelter and whatever else we require to survive. That kindness is going to be his down fall.”

Kivach frowned. He knew the Emperor had ulterior motives. Looks like his instincts were right again. Zarkon continued.

“For decades, the biggest obstacle in our plans has been the Alteans. They are a peace loving race whose reach spreads far throughout the galaxies and forced our own exploits to be done so with discretion. Though they are weak minded, their technology rivals our own and waging a fight against them head on would only result in a stalemate. However, we have been granted a great opportunity. To infiltrate from the inside. We well defeat the Alteans and their planet will be the first that we claim as our own.”

The energy in the room had become electric. The soldiers around Kivach were grinning, hands and feet moving with anticipation. They were ready. Ready to charge the planet and tear down the unsuspecting Alteans. Kivach was more or less indifferent, not really concerned with decimating an entire race. He glanced up at Thace who was ever the image of composer. The Emperor still had more to say.

“For the time being, we will act as refugees. When the time is right, we will launch our attack. The main targets will be the royal family. Without anyone to lead, the people will bend easily.”

The unnerving grin Prince Lotor was sporting could only mean that this was his idea. Kivach had heard the prince was more of a strategist, so it only made sense. His sliver tongue has become infamous amongst the soldiers. It was rumored that he once forced an entire fleet to surrender without even getting out of bed.

There were probably more layers to this plan that only Zarkon, Lotor and Haggar knew. Things more complex then Kivach dare wonder about.

Zarkon’s brown lowered to an almost threatening stare. “Any who reveal our true intentions to the Alteans will answer to me. Dismissed.”

And with that, Zarkon turned. His cape billowed around him as the sliding doors whooshed open for him to leave.

Kivach stood a while longer, staring at the door. The Prince and Haggar had left as well, leaving the space empty. He wondered just how detailed and complex this plan actually was. After all, compared to the Alteans they extremely outnumbered. Lotor must have something up his sleeve powerful enough to convince his father that this was the best plan. Or perhaps it was Haggar with her constant experiments that gave the Emperor such confidence. Whatever the case, Kivach was pretty sure he would be far from action so to speak. While he was a very capable fighter, most likely he’d be assigned to the ship. Spending countless hours patrolling the vessel until the time came for the attack.

Just as he turned to leave, Thace cleared his throat. “Kivach. You have been assigned to Emperor Zarkon’s personal guard. You will accompany him to the castle where you will be stationed for the deration of our stay.”

“I will?” he tried to suppress the surprise in his voice.

“Do you doubt your commanders’ orders?”

“Not at all. Just my own abilities.” He spoke truthfully, never one to shy away from Thace.

The commander grunted, seeing the reason behind his doubts. “Though shorter in stature and initially weaker than your fellow trainees, your skill became unparalleled during your training. You managed to best Galra far larger and stronger than you through sheer will alone. You are a promising Galra soldier, and I have no doubt about that.”

Kivach took the praise with a calm face, but inside he was squirming. Praise wasn’t often given, but when it was it was spoken with undeniable truth. He nodded to Thace, a silent thank you for his words.

“You will report to the control room. The Emperor is expecting you.” With that, Thace left.

Steeling himself, Kivach headed to the door. It was an honor he never expected. To be placed on the personal guard of the Emperor. All his hardships, all his work, it was finally paying off. Kivach’s mind wondered as he trekked through the repetitive halls of the ship. He thought back to his training, to the faces of his peers that sneered at him and pushed him down. Some of them, he passed on a daily basis and now they were going to see him at the right hand of the Emperor himself.

Kivach smirked, allowing himself the time from the bridge to the control room to gloat.

 

* * *

 

 

Everything Kivach remember from his home planet paled in comparison to wonder that was Altea. It was bright and beautiful, with shimmering buildings rising high in the sky. The greenery was integrated cityscape, with large trees thriving amongst the sturdy metal structures and water flowing endlessly though a series of aqueducts. It was a glimmering jewel of a place, where his home dark and dank mine with only flecks of color and beauty. Well, it was at least.

King Alfor greeted them as soon as their transport ship landed. Up high in the sky, the Galra fleet was looming in the atmosphere. A dark and somewhat ominous mark in the otherwise clear Altean sky. Kivach wondered how dense the Alteans could be. Their fleet was intimidating to him and yet they seemed confident that the Galra’s arrival was a peaceful one.

The naïve fools.

Emperor Zarkon seemed to have taken a few lessons from his son on diplomacy, or at least the guise of it. Kivach was taken aback at the fact that he was almost charming. It set the fur on the back of neck standing up at how discomforting it was. He watched as the king was instantly relaxed and warmly invite them all into his castle.

Much to his surprise, only Lotor and a handful of guards were the first on the planet. Haggar was nowhere to be seen. The witch must be planning something. He couldn’t think of another reason for her absence.  

King Alfor, and really all the Alteans, were a unique looking race. Kivach studied them more than the ornate halls of the castle. They were shorter then the Galra, not nearly as strong, but judging by the intricate weapons held by the king’s guard, they weren’t going to go down easily. His mind began to run through strategies on how to disarm them.

The small party was lead to a grand room with a round table at the center. The table had a holo projector in the center, the image floating above was the royal crest. Alfor sat in the largest chair, his two guards stationed behind him. Zarkon and Lotor sat to his right the two chairs on the kings left were noticeably empty. Kivach took his place behind the emperor’s chair next to another Galra soldier he didn’t bother learning the name of.

The king started the conversation. “Lord Zarkon, before we go any further I have to say: I am deeply sorry for the loss of your planet, and of your people. The pain you must feel… I cannot imagine.”

“Your condolences are greatly appreciated, as is your hospitality. We’ve wondered the stars for some time now, and I was beginning to worry about the remainder of my people.”

The king nodded solemnly. “Any aid we can give, you just need ask.”

“Thank you.” He was really laying on the worried leader act. It was paying off, considering how sympathetic the king looked. There was a knock on the door, followed by it swinging open not a moment later. Two figures strode in and the king rose to greet them.

“Ah, Lord Zarkon, may I introduce my children. Princess Allura and Prince Lance.” The two young royals took the chairs next to their father, with the princess immediately at his side. They both greeted him properly, bowing their heads slightly.

Zarkon stood to match them. “It a pleasure. And may I introduce my son, Prince Lotor.” He gesture to Lotor who gave a deeper bow then any of them. That amused smirk that always rested on his lips seemed to widen as he took in the two royals.

As the negotiations for the incoming Galra refugees began, Kivach began to size up the royals. Zarkon had said that these three were the main targets when their plan eventually went into play. He already had a good read on the king; strong and wise with an obvious background in combat. The way he carried himself and strode through the palace halls was enough to tell him that he was a trained warrior, albeit a bit old.

The princess was stunning, that much was obvious. Her cloud like hair billowed around her frame and settled gracefully around her cheeks. That being said, her shoulders were broad and strong looking, her arms showing healthy muscles forming. She probably has been though some rigorous training herself and looked more than capable of defending herself. Still, she shouldn’t be too much to handle for one Galra to take on.

Princess Allura was listening intently to her father’s words, watching every little move he made. When she would speak, her sweet voice carried a commanding presence that Kivach was surprised by, though he didn’t show it. She eagerly took part in figuring out how her kingdom would accommodate the swarm of Galra floating in the atmosphere. Based on this, Kivach reasoned that she was first in line to take the throne. Seeing that prince was completely silent.

Oh yes, the prince.

Kivach was watching the princess so intently, that he forgot about the prince. His amber eyes shifted to the other royal only to accidently meet the princes’ gaze. Prince Lance didn’t look much like his sibling, apart from the slivery white hair and brown skin tone.  His eyes were a darker blue, his cheeks speckled with dark little dots. He was obviously taller than his sister, but slouched a bit in his chair and leaned against the arm rest.

Kivach stared at the prince, and the prince stared right back. This was his first diplomatic venture, but he was fairly certain that staring at royalty wasn’t the proper thing to do. Then, Kivach blinked. The prince’s mouth quirked into a wry smile, which confused the young Galra. His lips parted and he mouthed something behind his hand, so that only he could see.

_I win._

Kivach’s ears twitched in annoyance. What was the prince talking about? What did he just win? The grin was still there, along with a cool more relaxed look then before. Kivach kept his soldiers composer and turned back to the conversation at hand.

As talk went on, Kivcah found himself stealing a glance at the strange prince. Finally it seemed that he was paying attention to the politics going on. However his expression was void of any playfulness he showed earlier and instead the prince looked positively bored. Kivach frowned, wondering how he could go from looking so lively to so down in a matter of a few seconds. It was interesting, to say the least.

When the conversation began to dwindle down, Prince Lance was the first to excuse himself. He practically ran out of the room, leaving the king to explain.

“Excuse my son; he’s never really been the diplomatic type. Too much energy, you see.” He smiled warmly although there was a tint of worry in his eyes.

Lotor swept his hair over his shoulder, the white color looking pale and dingy compared to the princesses. “I would imagine so, being so young. I’m sure the dear prince with grow out of it someday.”

“One can only hope.” Alfor nodded. “The way things are, Lance will never have to take the throne. Unlike you, your highness and Allura, he does not have that responsibility to drive him and keep his wild tendencies in check. He can be a bit reckless…”

“Oh father, you worry too much.” Allura patted her fathers’ arm. “Lance will be fine. Just let him have a little fun.”

“Last time you said that, the curtains in the library were set on fire.”

Lotor laughed animatedly, Zarkon cracking a stiff smile. They were really playing up this whole innocent act. Still, it was rather odd that the attention of the conversation changed to quickly to the Altean prince. Judging by the tired sigh from the king, this was a conversation that happened often with whoever would listen.

“I’m worried that his antics will only escalate and get him in trouble.” The king continued. “Even though we are in a time of peace, there will always be those who seek to destroy that peace. I fear that Lance doesn’t see that and puts himself in situations that could end up putting him in harm’s way.”

If only the king knew that all of them were in danger the minute they accepted the Galra into their orbit.

“If I might offer some peace of mind.” Lotor straighten up, fixing the king with his falsely kind eyes. “What if we offer one of our personal guards to watch over the mischievous young prince?” Kivach couldn’t help it; his eyes widened in surprise. Prince Lotor continued. “Our soldiers are expertly trained and highly intuitive. It’s the least we can do seeing how kind your majesty has been to us Galra.”

If Kivach didn’t know their plan, he would have believed that Lotor’s gesture was purely one of kindness.  But he could see only see the cunning in it. With a Galra stationed at the prince’s bodyguard, it would only take a second to eliminate one of the royals. For a moment, Kivach wondered if Lotor was planning and weaving any more Galra in the place like this. Who knows what goes on in that head of his.

“That is quiet the gesture, Prince Lotor. I will consider it.” And with that, Alfor and Allura rose from their seats and left. Zarkon and Lotor were shown to a separate part of the castle that was just as ornate as everything else. It was as if they were granted their own wing of the palace, as Altean guards became less and less prevalent and replaced with Galra.

Kivach and the three other guards followed their leaders into a grand bedroom, where they all took in the best of Altean hospitality.

“This plan is going wonderfully, father.” Lotor fell haphazardly into a large chair. He undid the straps on his cape and let it fall on the cushions.

“Don’t get cocky.” Zarkon’s gruffness had come back. His previous hospitable attitude vanishing in a flash. “What was that offer? Giving the king a guard for his wayward son?”

“Oh father, can’t you see? Think of how much easier it will be when we give the order if we have a Galra that close to the prince? He will be dead before the king can even raise a finger to help. One down, two to go.”

“I see.”

“I’m trying to ensure as that the majority of our race survive, father. The quicker we take the planet, the less casualties we’ll endure. But until then we have to bid our time and spread our forces into the castle. Once we have a strong position, we will strike.”

Zarkon grinned, this look different from before. It was full of malice. “With the drones and Haggar _experiment_ taking control of the out territories, our soldiers will have no trouble conquering the capital.”

The witch _was_ cooking up something. So far, all of his assumptions had been correct. Kivach prided himself on his intuition as it seemed to be pointing him in the right direction yet again.

“Kivach.” Lotor’s voice surprised him, even more so seeing that the prince actually knew his name.

Kivach stepped forward, away from the wall he had positioned himself at when they entered. “Sir.”

“If the king accepts my offer, which I suspect he will, you are going to be the guard appointed to Prince Lance. Seeing that you are shorter than the rest, they will underestimate you and trust you more easily.”

Ah. So that’s why he was appointed to the emperor’s guard. Briefly he wondered if the others in his company had been chosen for a specific purpose like this.

“At my father’s command, you will assassinate the prince. Do you understand you order’s, soldier?”

He answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

“Good.”

The next day, Kivach was being summoned to the throne room. King Alfor only needed one night to take Lotor up on his offer. Perhaps whatever activity the prince ran to yesterday was worse than setting some curtains on fire.

His sensitive ears could hear the yelling long before he made it to the throne room. Kivach stopped in front of a pair of large doors, the two Altean guards standing outside it giving him looks of both amusement and sympathy. Preparing himself for the noise, Kivach nodded.

The doors swung open and with it, a loud sound assaulted his ears. Kivach flinched at the shrill voice, pushing his ears back to try and soften it.

The prince was not happy about getting a bodyguard. “-don’t understand why you feel the need to coddle me like I’m still a child! I can take care of myself!”

Gone was the odd little smile and soft blue eyes. The prince changed yet again into a furious mess. From the look on the King’s face, this had happened before. Alfor was sitting in his throne and pinching his brow. Prince Lance was pacing in front of his father, his sliver hair sticking out at odd angels where he stressfully pulled at it.

“Lance, I know that-“

“Then why am I getting a babysitter?! Why isn’t Allura getting a guard?!”

“Because Allura doesn’t sneak into the ship bay and take a speeder out for a joyride.”

So that’s what happened yesterday. All plotting aside, the prince really does need someone to watch over him.

Lance grimaced, his cheeks red. “I said I was sorry… but that doesn’t mean you have to saddle me with some Galra-“

“Speaking of which.” Alfor seemed to have finally noticed the new arrival. Honestly, Kivach was surprised it didn’t happen sooner. He was quiet literally a purple dot against the cream colored stone work. He bowed, not sparing a glance at the fuming prince.

The king rose from his seat and put on a gracious smile. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I’m sorry for anything you heard.”

“It’s no problem at all, your majesty.”

“What is your name?”

“Kivach.”

“Kivach, it’s a pleasure. I remember you from the meeting yesterday. You are a part of Lord Zarkon’s personal guard, correct?”

“Yes.” This must have been another part of Lotor’s plan. The king was obviously impressed with that fact. He turned to his son who was still a bit red in the face.

“As you may recall this in my son Lance. I want to thank you in advance for becoming his guard.”

“Thank you for the honor.” Finally, he looked at the prince. His gaze was weary, his brows still angled to show he wasn’t okay with this. Kivach didn’t mind the look. It made more sense to him that the playful smirk he’d gotten yesterday.

The prince was still not happy, but he didn’t protest any further. King Alfor’s captain of the guard gave him the quick rundown of the mischievous prince. Apparently he had managed to slip all the other guards put on his service. Quite the troublemaker indeed.

It sounded simple enough: protect the prince and make sure he stays out of trouble. This was something he could do in his sleep. And then when the order was given by Zarkon, kill him. Kivach glanced at the prince again only to catch the prince sticking his tongue out at the young Galra.

He really hoped he wouldn’t be stuck with this brat for too long.

 

* * *

 

 

To say that he was angry at his father would be an understatement. Lance woke up that morning, after having accidently crashed into the hanger doors, happy and well rested. He assumed that he would get a lecture from his father; a less serious one from Allura and that would be all. The last thing he expected was for his father to tell him he was going to be watched by some brooding Galra.

After breakfast, he stormed into the throne room. Angry and pleading, trying to say anything that would get him out of this and get his freedom back. But his father’s resolve was set in stone and nothing could move it. Behind him, the doors opened but Lance didn’t- _couldn’t_ stop fuming. It wasn’t until his father noticed the new arrival did he finally stop.

Lance took a deep breath to compose himself, but realized it was pointless. That and he really didn’t care if the Galra assigned to him knew saw. If anything, he hoped that whoever it was had some sense and would ‘un-volunteer’ or something. He could only hope.

“What is your name?” His father asked the soldier.

The voice that answered sounded young. “Kivach.”

“Kivach, it’s a pleasure. I remember you from the meeting yesterday. You are a part of Lord Zarkon’s personal guard?”

That made Lance turn. It was the very same Galra from the day before. And just like before, Lance couldn’t help but stare.

This Galra, Ki- something, didn’t look like his comrades. He was smaller, more agile looking than his lumbering counterparts. His large purple ears looks almost fluffy and his dark hair, thought slicked back and reveling amber eyes, looked wild where it rested just past his shoulders. He was clearly not your average Galra.

Lance stared all the while his new bodyguard was being instructed by his father’s captain. The one time they made eye contact, Lance stuck his tongue out. A childish act and in no way helping his fathers’ image of him, but it made him feel better. Lance ran his fingers through his hair in the meantime, smoothing out what he could only assume was a strange pouf. After adjusting the silver circlet that emphasized his royal status, the captain had finished.

“It’s all settled then.” Alfor stepped down from the throne and clapped his son on his shoulder. “Now Lance, we have much to do today. Are you ready?”

Lance looked up at his father once more, wide eyed hoping to appeal to his father’s soft heart. Alfor’s expression didn’t change. Lance sighed and stood up a little straighter and sighed. “Yes father.”

In fact it was such a busy day, that Lance didn’t remember his Galra guard at all. The capitol city was a buzz as it prepared from the hundreds of refugees about to touch down on the planet’s surface. They watched from the holo projector in the meeting room, Emperor Zarkon and his son sitting with them, as countless workers and drones pieced together temporary housing for the Galra. The small structures were put together easily and could hold a family of four. This little makeshift village sat at the edge of the capitol, in a vast valley that surrounded them.

Looking at it now, seeing just how few Galra were actually left, it made Lance shiver. His father and sister were talking quietly with the Galra leader about this and that, but the young prince was focused on the images on the projector. There were so many of them, but also so few. He couldn’t imagine anything like that happening to his own planet.

The details surrounding the destruction of the Galra home planet was still a bit of a mystery. Alfor and Allura both didn’t seem too concerned about it, but it bugged Lance to no end that he didn’t have a clear answer. Not that he didn’t trust the Galra, but it made him worry that something similar could happen again. Hopefully he was just being paranoid.

The meeting ended, but his royal duties weren’t over yet. There was a public appearance to both the Alteans and the Galra, a visit out to the new village, lunch, training, more meetings and to top it all off a fancy dinner with some of the high ranking Galra commanders. Acting that composed for that long made him incredibly sleepy.

He dragged his feet down the hall, already fumbling with the clasps on his annoyingly long cape. It was at that moment, he remembered that someone was still behind him. Lance huffed and slung his cape over his arm.

“Are really going to follow me everywhere?” he asked, not bothering to look at his guard.

“Yes. Those are my orders.” The reply was stiff, void of any sort of inflection.

“Really? Well then, I order you to leave me alone.”

“I cannot. My order’s come directly from his Majesty and cannot be changed but anyone but him.”

“I know… can’t hurt to try though…” Lance mumbled mostly to himself.

They two turned a corner and finally came to Lance’s door. He slowed, not quite sure what the Galra would do. He wouldn’t come in, would he? As he pulled open one of the doors, he was relieved to see the Galra stop and plant himself with his back to the door. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about being watching in his own bedroom. Still, he locked the door just to be sure.

The plans he made for tonight would have to wait. Lance undressed and didn’t even bother reaching for his sleeping shirt. The billowing top he was wearing now was comfortable enough. He slipped into bed and quickly began to snore.

The next day, Lance was surprised to see his guard still standing outside his door. In the same exact spot he was in last night.

“Did you really stand out here all night long?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes.” The Galra answered simply. His amber eyes looked just as alert and aware as they had yesterday. There was no sign of fatigue at all.

Lance fixed his circlet and marched off, not willing to say anything more.

 

* * *

 

 

The prince wasn’t as annoying as Kivach thought he would be. Granted, that might have been accounted to the fact that he was incredibly busy most of the time. This might have been a planned by the King, but it very well also could have been a coincidence. The Galra not at the castle with Zarkon and those not on the ship were led to a makeshift village the Alteans provided. Form what he could gather, they were fairly nice accommodations. Pity the Alteans were wasting such kindness on them.

Kivach went over everything he heard that day, as it had become a habit during the late hours of the night. He made sure to stay with the prince all night long. According the king’s captain, he had a tendency to sneak out at odd hours whereas the day time he remained relatively behaved. Kivach was certain the prince didn’t even notice him leave during meetings and such so that he could snatch up a bit of sleep himself.

He really seemed dense.

A soft noise brought his mind to attention. His ear turned towards the door, listening intently. Kivach sighed when he realized what it was. It was the sound of the balcony doors being unlatched. It had been entire week since he was placed on the prince’s charge and this was the first time he tried any mischief.

Kivach glanced down the hall and noted the window at the far end of the hall. Double checking to make sure the door was indeed locked, he went to the window.

Scaling the side of the castle was an easy feat and a lot more enjoyable than he would have guessed. He made it to the sloping roof quickly and recounted his steps leading to the prince’s room. It wasn’t hard to find, seeing that it was the only balcony on this floor.

The prince, dressed more causally then he’d seen him before, stepped out onto the balcony with a bundle slung over his shoulder. His sliver hair glimmered in the moonlight and for a moment, Kivach was distracted by it. Shaking the pretty image from his mind, he dropped down silently behind the prince.

Prince Lance slowly closed the door behind him, a breathy laugh making his shoulder’s bounce. When he turned around he shrieked so loud it was likely the entire kingdom heard. He backed into the door, dropping his bag.

“What the quiznak are you doing out here?!?” he screeched.

Kivach tilted his head at the new word, but didn’t dwell on figuring out the meaning. “I would ask you the same question, Highness.”

“I thought you were guarding the door??”

“I don’t guard doors. I guard princes, who look to be sneaking out.” Both of them turned and looked at the bag the prince had dropped. Kivach knelt down after realizing the prince wasn’t going to and handed it back. When the prince didn’t move, Kivach dropped it again.

Prince Lance caught the bag by one of its straps, looking up at his guard with a frown. “You’re going to tell my father, aren’t you?”

“No.” he stepped back, waiting.

“You… you’re not?” the prince’s eye grew wide.

“I don’t see a reason to. Not yet at least.”

“But you are going to follow me?”

“Yes. To make sure you stay out of trouble.” Kivach waited for the prince to move. He seemed surprised and a little confused. To the soldier, it was pretty cut and dry. He’d follow the prince and ensure his safety, but he wasn’t going to run to the king every time the royal wanted out to clear his head. That would just be waste of time.

Prince Lance stood for a moment longer before shouldering his bag. “I’m… I’m going to climb the roof.” He spoke hesitantly, like he was testing just what he could get away with.

“Have you done that before?” he questioned.

“Yeah- I mean, yes. Hundreds of times.” He nodded at the princes words. Prince Lance strode to the edge of the balcony, where the thick stone railing met with the side of the castle. He jumped up, his hands gripping a small ledge at his eye level. “You really aren’t going to stop me?”

“No.” he said again. “But I am going to follow you.”

“… you’re going to follow me. I guess that’s okay.” And for the first time in a week, the prince smiled at him. It was a fleeting look, one gone just as quickly as it came. Prince Lance hoisted himself up quickly, a practiced motion carrying him to the slanted roof fast. After a moment of hesitation Kivach followed his charge.

This seemed to be an adventure the prince went on often. Kivach watched the nimble prince scale the castle walls. He stepped lightly on the smooth stone tiles and seemed to know which were loose and noisy. Kivach’s ears twitched in agitation every time his stepped wrong. It only made the prince giggle.

A fair distance from where they started the prince stopped and set down his bag. They had reached a flat part of the rooftop, a few feet away from them were thick pained windows that looked down into a grand room.

“That’s the ballroom.” The prince explained, noticing the curious look from Kivach. “We don’t use it much, mainly for big celebrations.”

“I see.”

The prince sat, yawning a bit as he reached into his bag. He pulled out a small brass tube that was narrow at one end. There were glass lens at either end and as the prince pulled it, it extended.

“This is a telescope.” The prince spoke again. “My teacher Coran said there pretty much useless now, with holo maps and everything, but they let you look at the stars up close. I guess it’s useful if your ship is damaged or something. There’s a little display inside that tells you what you’re looking at too.”

He lay back and brought the little device up to his eye. Kivach could hear the little hum of mechanics as the lens on the telescope focused in on whatever star the prince was studying.  

If this was all the prince did when he snuck out, the king really had nothing to worry about. Now Kivach was wondering if the curtain and the stolen speeder stories were over exaggerations.

“You can sit down, you know.” The prince was looking at him, arching his head back and looking extremely odd.

“No thank you, Highness.” He answered quickly.

“Suit yourself. I’ll probably be here a while.” He went back to looking at the stars, humming every once and a while.

The night was just as beautiful as the day on Altea. The twin moons glowed brilliantly and the stars surrounding them speckled the dark sky. A shooting star shot across the sky and the prince gasped in delight.

It was then that Kivach realized he didn’t recognize any of these constellations. It made sense of course; home was a long way away. Then again, home wasn’t even there anymore. It was probably the first time he felt any sort of sadness at the fact his planet no longer existed. His memories of that place weren’t incredibly special, but it was still his home. Where he was born, where he grew up. The few good memories of his childhood were created in a place that no longer exists. Now he was finally coming to terms with that fact that it was gone for good.

“Do you want any?” The prince’s voice drew him out of his thoughts. He was sitting up now, his bag open again and this time he was holding a flaky looking- something. Kivach tilted his head to the side, the breeze carrying a sweet scent with it.

“No thank you, Highness.” He answered.

“Are you sure?” his voice went up at the end, seemingly following his raised brow. He raised the flaky treat higher as if trying to tempt him. “It’s delicious.”

“No thank you.”

“Fine, your loss.” The treat disappeared in a flash, quickly replaced by another. There must have been a whole banquets full in that bag. After he had eaten a good number of treats, the prince leaned back on his hands and looked up at his guard. “You don’t talk much do you?” his lips were pressed into an almost pout.

Kivach shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t need to.” This was not supposed to be part of his job. But he had nothing else to do but indulge in the prince’s questions. It was either this or ignore the royal but that might lead to whining or worse, yelling.

“Fair warning, I can talk a lot. My sister once timed me and I went two and a half dobashes without taking a breath.”

That actually piqued his interest. “Really?”

“Really.” Prince Lance grinned. He stretched and pushed his bag off his lap. It was silent for a while, the moons edging closer to their peak. The princes’ posture suddenly stiffed, confusing Kivach. “I just realized something.” He stated.

“Yes, Highness?”

He turned, looking a little embarrassed. “I- uh- I don’t remember your name.”

The young Galra rolled his eyes, slightly amused. “It’s Kivach.”

“Ki- vach?” it sounded strange in the prince’s voice. Almost like it was wrong. He nodded all the same. “Hmph. It doesn’t really suit you.”

“It… what?” his composer finally slipped and was replaced with muddled look of surprise. After all, how could his own name not suit him?

“I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t.” The prince shrugged and lay back on the roof. He weaved his finger together and rested his head on his hands in a very nonchalant manner.

Kivach frowned at the prince, and his seemingly indifferent attitude. Then, thinking about names, a hazy memory suddenly came to mind. It was a familiar memory but it was one that he hadn’t revisited in many years. Amber eyes, brighter and rounder than his own; a toothy smile and impossibly soft lilac fur. Her voice was the best sound in the entire universe, and it hardly ever said ‘Kivach’. No, his mother had another name for him. A nickname, she would say. He never told anyone, after all why would he? But before he knew it, the name was falling from his lips for the first time in years.

“Keith.”

The prince turned. “Huh?”

Kivach huffed. “If you would like, you could call me Keith instead.” He waited, the seconds passing slowly. Finally a smile spread across the prince’s face.

He sat up and rolled to his feet. “Keith… I like that a lot better. It suits you.” The prince held out his hand. “You can call me Lance. It’s nice to meet you, Keith.”

Kivach stared at the casual gesture much longer than he should have. It was jarring, and oh so strange for a prince to act this way. Especially considering he was having a fit a week ago about Kivach being around in the first place. But still, he took the prince’s hand and shook, feeling his ears perk up a bit taller at the smile the prince wore.

Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith was never really a Galra sounding name to me. So i made him a new one. From now on, he will only be referred to as 'Kivach' by like Zarkon and them. The narrative will call him 'Keith'.
> 
> Also, because I'm lazy, only the spoken dialogue will use different names for time (like tick and dobash). i just... yeah i'm lazy :D
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding moments.

“Whoo! Got another one!” The prince quickly covered his mouth, glancing over his shoulder. Keith shook his head. If the blaster fire hadn’t brought about the castle guard, then his loud cheer wasn’t going to either. Still, Keith looked around as well and angled his ears in all different directions.

“I think your safe, Highness.” He said after a few quiet moments.

“Keeeith.” Lance spun around and put on a pout. He wasn’t wearing his circlet tonight, in fact most nights when the prince snuck out his royal garb was missing. It seemed he enjoyed playing a commoner these nights.

Keith faltered a bit under those big blue eyes. The prince had a surprisingly intense gaze that never failed to catch him off guard. He regained his composer and spoke. “Yes, Highness?”

“I told you, you can call me Lance. Especially if it’s just you and me.”

The young Galra grumbled, his ears dropping. “It… it isn’t proper.” He reasoned. Rules and regulations were his life, and being so informal with someone clearly above him was just strange.

“You need to relax, Little Galra. Your way too uptight.” Lance turned back around to the targets he’d set up.

Tonight they had made their way to the edge of the castle walls. They had tucked away in a small training pitch. It was an odd place, not used too often judging by how nice everything looked. Lance had somehow gotten his hands on a medium sized blaster, a sleek weapon Keith had seen some of the castle guards carry. He’d dragged Keith out for target practice and was actually a pretty good shot.

Lance took a breath and aimed for the targets further away. As he exhaled, he fired off three rounds.

“Aw quiznak. Missed one.” It took him another two tries to get the last one. “Eh, not too bad. Considering I haven’t practiced in a while.”

Lance went to set up the targets again, Keith following close behind. “Don’t you practice during your daily training?” he asked. Lance encouraged questions, and after a while of him doing all the talking he all but insisted that Keith ask him things from time to time. Well, it was more like he begged.

“Father doesn’t care much for blasters. He’d a bit more _traditional_ when it comes to somethings.” Lance grumbled. “My daily training is mainly hand to hand, and sometimes a sword or a staff, but honestly I’m not that great at it. Allura on the other hand can probably beat you with a her staff. She’s a real terror when you make her mad.”

Keith stored that bit of information away for his commanders.

“Now blasters? That I’m a natural.” Lance fluffed up his hair, flashing a confident smile. “What about you Keith? Galra are pretty good fighters, right?”

“The best. In every aspect of combat.”

“Yeah, but which is your favorite?”

Keith thought for a moment, really thought about it. “I guess… I like fighting with swords. I’m not sure why, but I find it easy.”

Lance nodded, smiling a little.

They stayed out later than usual and getting back was a hassle. More than once, Keith had to stop Lance from turning a corner right into a patrol. By the time they had made it to Lance’s bedroom, the sky was alight with a rosy glow.

“I am so going to regret this in a few hours.” The prince mumbled while he unlocked his door.

“You were the one who insisted, Highness.”

“Ugh… and I have my lessons with Coran today. He talks more than I do.”

Keith didn’t believe that was possible. He took his place by the door.

“See you in a bit Keith.” Lance smiled. “Don’t get too bored without me.”

“Goodnight, Highness-“

“ _Keith_.”

He sighed. “…Lance. Goodnight, Lance.”

The smile on the prince’s face was blinding. “Night Keith.” The door closed with a click. The prince didn’t lock it. In fact he hadn’t done that since the first night Keith caught him leaving his room. He was a very trusting person, this prince of the Alteans. Of course this trait would prove to be his downfall, but it did make his job much easier.

It had been nearly a month since they came to this planet and the Galra have avoided all suspicion. Lotor and all his plotting was working tirelessly. Every time he walked the halls with the prince, Keith noticed more and more Galra standing next to the Altean guards. Their cruisers were patrolling the air just as much as the bright white Altean vessels. It appeared that they were fitting in seamlessly. 

The meeting he sat in on with Lance were incredibly interesting to listen too, but of course the prince would leave as soon as he wasn’t needed. Keith hated missing out on important information but he had his duties.

So he followed the peculiar prince and took mental notes about his daily life. He watched him interact with his sister, how he seemed to straighten up around his father and his advisors, the easy way he slid into more casual conversation when no one was around. Truly, he was a young man of a million faces.

A right now, the face he was wearing was that of determination.

Keith stood at the edge of the room and watched Lance fall on his back once again. He typically didn’t stick around when Lance did his combat training. Usually he was off doing his own training to make sure he stayed in top form. But today he decided to come purely out of curiosity. Lance said that he wasn’t much of a close combat fighter and that claim was getting more and more back up by the second.  

Allura was standing over her little brother. Her cloud-like hair pulled back high on her head and a confident grin on her sweet face.

“I win again.” she teased.

Lance wriggled on the floor. “No fair… you said no tosses!”

“And I also said never trust your opponent.” She held out her hand and hoisted him up with ease. “Now come on, go over that foot work again.”

“How about no? I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a huge bruise on my hip because of you.”

“Oh come now, Lance. The only way you’re going to get better is if you practice.”

He waved her off, spinning on his heel and stepping off the mat. “I’ve practiced enough for one day. C’mon Keith lets go steal some treats from the kitchen.”

Keith pushed himself off the wall with a quiet sigh. He glanced up at Allura whose eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Aren’t you supposed to be staying out of trouble?”

Lance put on his most confident smile and turned to his sister. “I’ll grab you something if you want?”

While the princess was far more mature than her brother, she still was young. After a moment or two of thought, her posture loosened. “Well… I can’t exactly stop you. And if you happen to pick up some taosh berry tarts while you there, well I guess I don’t have to tell father.”

“I knew you’d see it my way. See you later, sis.”

The kitchen staff didn’t mind Lance taking a few things. In fact, they gave him more treats then he could carry. Keith stalked behind his charge, his sensitive nose assaulted by multiple sweet scents. Lance was chattering away, shoving things in his mouth while they walked.

“Do you like sweets?” the prince asked between bites.

“No.”

“You don’t?? That’s like… that’s like not liking sunshine or something…” Keith looked away, his ears beginning to droop. Lance stopped; his mouth agape. “You don’t like sunshine?? I can’t believe you Keith!”

“It… it’s not like I don’t like it.” He grumbled, trying to avoid the prince’s bright blue eyes. “Galra eyes are sensitive. Bright lights sting.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Many don’t.”

Lance turned back around, his stride a little slower so that he could walk closer to Keith. He snagged a treat out of the bag he carried and took a big bite.

As it had become a common practice, Keith studied the Lance. The prince was… baffling. In front of his father and the Galra guests, he was quiet and composed. Confident looking with and air about him said royalty. However when it was just the two of them, roaming down the halls or up on the castle roof, it was hard to think of him as a prince at all. The only thing that suggested the title was in the almost graceful way he moved. Keith would be lying if he said he hadn’t been distracted by those long limbs once or twice.

“Kivach.” A Galra soldiers turned the corner in front of them. Keith stood up straight as a rail, a little embarrassed at the fact that he was carting around the prince’s food like a servant. The Galra bowed to Lance. “My apologies, your highness. Lord Zarkon and Prince Lotor have requested a meeting with Kivach. In the meantime I will be accompanying you as your guard.”

Lance’s face had morphed into the perfect image of royalty. Even as he swept a small crumb from his cheek it screamed elegance. “Is something wrong?” Lance asked.

“Not at all your highness. The Emperor just wishes to check in. It has been nearly a month already since we’ve arrived and he is concerned for his citizens.”

If Keith hadn’t been a master at hiding his emotions, this would have made him snort with laughter. Zarkon was hardly the concerned leader. Most likely the he just wanted to find out any secrets Keith had found out about the prince and princess.

Lance bought the lie all the same and smiled. “Very well. I’ll see you soon then Kei- um Kivach.”

The other Galra took the bag of sweets out his arms and followed Lance down the hall. He watched the prince until the pair of them disappeared around a corner, out of sight. Seeing Lance with another guard, well, it didn’t feel right. Pushing that thought aside, Keith steeled himself for a meeting with his Emperor.

Zarkon and Lotor were in a small dining hall. Well, it was small compared to the grand hall the king and his lords feasted in. Lotor was pacing near his end of the table, his lips moving quickly. There were papers and a large tablet laid out before him and every few steps he would go back and read something over or make a note.

Zarkon was the exact opposite of his son, calm If not looking a little bored. His overbearing armor was missing for once but that in no way made him less intimidating.

He made his presence known. “You summoned me?”

Lotor looked up. “Ah, there you are. I suspect your _job_ is going well.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Now, tell me about the prince.”

Something about the tone of his voice made Zarkon grumble. Keith spared a glance at his emperor who looked frustrated.

“What do you wish to know?”

“His strengths, his weakness. And I assume you’ve discovered a great deal about the princess as well, seeing how attached the two are. You may be close enough to kill the prince, but the princess is another matter I am still trying to figure out.”

“Seems like a waste.” The emperor finally spoke. He fixed his son with a fierce gaze that made Keith shudder from its intensity. Lotor didn’t have the same reaction. “We don’t need any more of your schemes. We are more than capable of taking the Alteans as we are now.”

“And then we would lose what few troops we have left and precious drones. If I don’t figure out a plan for the princes, she could very well escape and cause problems in the future. Father, your strength lies in the heat of battle. Mine lies before the battle commences. A few more weeks are all I ask, and taking this planet will be easier than you can imagine.”

The father and son were staring at one another, locked in an argument Keith couldn’t understand. Since he hadn’t been dismissed yet, Keith had to stand there awkwardly amongst the silence. Finally, Zarkon spoke.

“You have far more patience then me, Lotor. It’s the only trait of yours that I envy. Fine. Do as you will, but don’t keep me waiting for too long.”

“Don’t worry father, you will get your fight.” Lotor turned back to Keith looking positively giddy. “Now, tell me everything.”

Keith took a breath and told him everything. Lance’s habits and the few habit’s he noticed from the princess. Her strength in hand to hand combat and weapon preference. Lance’s weakness and his surprising accuracy with a blaster, all down to the prince’s almost nighty jaunts to the rooftop.

“And he just… sits there. Watching the stars?” Lotor questioned, his face unreadable.

“Yes, sir. For most of the night.”

Lotor lean back in his chair, an amused smile on his lips. “I’m surprised the prince hasn’t already suffered an assassins attack. Such a naïve child.”

Keith didn’t say anything; he didn’t even hum in agreement. Truth be told those nights were rather soothing on his mind. Something about the clear Altean sky and the princes’ melodic voice calmed him. Keith quickly pushed that thought aside. It wasn’t normal for a Galra- _for him_ to be thinking like that. All that mattered were his orders. Keith looked back up at Lotor, not even realizing that his gaze had slipped to the floor.

The Galra prince hadn’t even noticed. “… the princess is still going to be a problem. If what you say is true, she sounds like a formidable foe. Almost tempting to let her escape, oh think of the wonderful battles we could have in the future…”

“ _Lotor_.” Zarkon practically growled.

“Oh calm down, father. It was a jest.” Something about the dark look fliting across Lotor’s eyes suggested otherwise.

With a wave of his hand, Lotor dismissed him. Keith hurried out the hall and made his way back to Lance. Creepy obsession with the princess aside, Lotor had asked plenty of questions about silver haired prince. And Keith told him everything, just like he was supposed to. So why then? Why did it feel like he had done something wrong?

* * *

 Allura was sitting at her vanity, her hand hovering over another tart. Behind her Lance was brushing out her wavy hair. It was still slightly damp from the shower.

“You can have another one. I grabbed them for you.” He teased.

“I know, it’s just… well I don’t want to ruin my dinner.”

“Should have thought about that before the first six- ow!” Allura had spun around and flicked him on the cheek. Lance rubbed the spot glaring at her in the mirror. His older sister smiled smugly before grabbing another tart and taking a small bite.

Dinner was only a few hours away, but that didn’t stop either of them from indulging in treats. As the bag slowly began to empty, Lance looked to the door again. He couldn’t tell if Keith was back yet and didn’t want to peak out the door to check.

It’s not like he missed the straight laced Galra, but he was much better company then whats-his-face outside Allura’s door. That guy was the typical Galra goon. Tall, scary and boring. Lance was just grateful they were close to Allura’s room when Keith got called away. He hoped that he’d be back in time for dinner.

“Why do you keep looking at the door?” Allura asked. “Expecting someone?”

Lance turned back quickly, not realizing that he was staring. He still hadn’t brushed a chunk of Allura’s hair and it was drying strangely. “Just wondering when Keith coming back, is all.”

“Why do you call him that?”

“Huh?”

“Your guard. His name is Kivach, isn’t it? Why do you call him Keith?”

“Well he said I could. I guess it’s a nickname or something.” he shrugged, continuing gently brushing.

“Look at you, making friends with your bodyguard. You can make friends with anyone, little brother.” She teased him, grinning.

Lance pouted, wondering if friendship was really the best word for what was happening. He couldn’t really say that he liked Keith. He barely knew anything about him. But the young Galra was leagues better than any of others his father had forced to follow him over the years. At least Keith let him venture out at night when he was feeling restless.

He really _really_ hoped that Keith wasn’t in trouble for that. They were always careful, avoiding the patrols if they went around the castle grounds and such. They wouldn’t replace him or anything, would they?

“Only I would be able to get along with a bodyguard. And a Galra one at that.” He grumbled.

“They are a bit-“

“-boring.”

“Well… I don’t think I’d go that far.” Allura finished off her tart and crossed her arms. “Serious is the word I was looking for. The Galra prioritize they military above all else. It only makes sense when you think about that.”

Allura always paid more attention to Coran’s teachings. More so than Lance who’d been caught sleeping more times than he could count. He realized then that not only did he not know much about Keith, but he didn’t know a lot about the Galra in general. A part from their purple fur and gleaming yellow eyes, he knew next to nothing.

Lance and Allura talked for a bit longer before he had to go get ready. Dinner was almost always a formal event now with the Galra Emperor and his subordinates surrounding their table. He grumbled at the thought of spending another evening making small talk about subjects he really didn’t care about. But no one besides Allura and sometimes his father wanted to listen to him ramble about his dreams of traveling the stars. Well Keith listened to him. Keith listened to everything he said. And yes, that was mostly due to the fact he really had nothing better to do, but unlike the other guards Lance didn’t feel like he was being annoying. He didn’t feel like he spoke too much or came off like a spoiled little royal. No, Keith made him feel… comfortable.

He smiled, realizing how ridiculous that thought was. Keith was… well he was his bodyguard. And a Galra soldier to top it off. Tagging along, listening to Lance ramble, it was just a part of his job. He tolerated it all and never looked bothered.  But that didn’t mean he enjoyed any of it. Not like Lance did.

With a tired sigh, Lance scooped up the few left over snacks and headed to the door. When he opened it, he was delighted to see Keith standing there.

“You’re back!” he smiled brightly, all other thoughts chased out of his mind by a warm feeling. However looking up at him something seemed a little off. His eye looked distant like he was thinking hard about something. “Keith? Is… everything alright?”

The look was gone in an instant replaced with his usual stoic air. “Everything’s fine, Highness.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” It was clear that the conversation was over.

Lance pouted a bit, clearly seeing Keith look distracted moments ago. Distracted and maybe a little distressed? It was hard to tell with such a fleeting look, but there was definitely some underlying tension built up in the Galra’s features. Keith turned and waited for Lance to lead the way.

Thinking about it, walking in silence next to Keith was far more comfortable then it was with anyone else. And considering how much Lance liked to talk, that was a major feat. Maybe it was just because quiet seemed more like Keith’s element.

Walking along to his room, Lance decided that tonight when the two of them snuck out, he’d be a little less loud and a little quieter. It was his little way of trying to ease Keith out of whatever stress he was hiding.

* * *

Lance was quiet and it was unsettling. Keith watched the prince balance on the edge of the rooftop, a different one then they normally traveled to. On their way, the prince mentioned that this particular part of the roof was a part of a long hallway that filtered off to a variety of different rooms. Most of said rooms not having been used in ages. Keith couldn’t help be see how wasteful it was to have rooms with no purpose, but he didn’t say anything. And neither did the prince.   

Sure, they had sat in silence before. While the prince was star gazing or polishing off a handful of sweets (which happened far too often to be healthy). But this was different. Lance was being far too quiet. He’d only known the prince for a few weeks and he knew that this wasn’t normal.

Keith followed behind a little awkwardly. He still felt a bit strange after his meeting with Lotor and was secretly counting on Lance’s curious rambling to make him forget this feeling. But no such luck.

Lance slowed to a stop and gazed at one of the tall castle spires. From this angle, it looked like one of the moons was being held up by the pointed cone. His silvery hair was practically glowing like the moons. He sat, swinging his legs over the edge.

The young Galra watched and watched, wondering what could have changed. He shouldn’t care, he really really shouldn’t care. It made no sense whatsoever. But suddenly Keith couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

“You’re quiet, tonight.” His voice came out softer then he intended. Even so the prince turned to him, his eyes a little surprised.

“And you’re a regular socialite.” He smirked. Keith frowned, immediately regretting saying anything. Lance laughed at the look on his face. “Oh calm down, I’m only teasing. And besides, you don’t really our start conversations. Actually you never do.”

Keith squirmed a little and looked away, pulling back his ears as he did so. “Well Highness- I mean… Lance. It’s not like you to be so quiet. I guess I was…” _Concerned_? Was that really feeling that pushed him to say something?

He felt like a pup again. Shy, awkward and so very unsure of himself. Keith didn’t like dealing with others. He never had the practice after his mother left. Being a solider worked out perfectly for that ‘weaker’ side of him because all he had to do was fight. And in that category, he excelled. But standing here next to Lance, he felt a completely out of his comfort zone.

A light chuckle escaped the prince’s lips. Keith looked up and saw that Lance was beaming. “My dear Keith, were you actually worried about me?”

“I-I…”

“Are you blushing? Wait, can Galra blush under all that fluff?”

“I don’t know??”

“How do you not know?”

“It- it’s not like I run to a mirror and check.”

“Ah, you have a point.”

Keith was frustrated at this point. Somehow Lance had managed to ruffle his fur the wrong way. He grumbled and turned away, wondering what stroke of madness made him say anything in the first place.

“Thank you. For asking.” The prince had turned back around to look at the sky. Keith watched; his eyesight near perfect in the dim lighting. He watched as a subtle breeze drifted pass, messing up the princes’ hair and reveling those funny little blue marks on his cheeks. He watched the little smile pull on his lips. “To be honest, I thought you’d like a little peace and quiet. You looked a little… stressed I guess? After you came back.”

“Stressed?”

“I don’t know, just a feeling I had. Allura says I jump to conclusions sometimes. I just… I don’t know. I just wanted to make you feel better.” He shrugged.

Keith stared blankly at the prince. Why would he care about that? About his guard’s feeling? Keith had spent nearly his entire life fighting for someone else, and this was the first time anyone was ever concerned for his own wellbeing.

Without really knowing what to do, Keith hesitantly went to the edge of the building. He sat down next to the prince, still keeping a fair distance between the two. “I appreciate that Highn- Lance. But I actually think I feel more relaxed when you’re talking.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“But why?” he asked, curiosity clearly evident on his face.

Why. That was the question of the hour. Keith couldn’t really say what about the prince’s voice was soothing. Hearing him go on about random things had become a bright little spot against his usually dull daily life. There was nothing like this back when he was on his home planet. Everything there was dark and hollow and… well very different. While he couldn’t quiet say that Altea is better than his home, Lance’s company was the best he’d been in in a long time.

“I’m not sure why. It just _do_.” He kept his eyes focused ahead. Boring holes into a particularly bright star. Next to him, he could feel the warmth coming from Lance’s smile.

“If that’s the case, then do I have a story to tell you. One time when we were little, Allura convinced me that I was adopted.”

Keith cocked his head to the side. “She did? But why would she do that?”

“Because she’s my older sister and just loved to mess with me. I cried for a whole varga.” Lance went on and told more stories about when he was young. Allura sounded like a terror, although she seems to have matured a bit over the years. Probably due to the fact that she was first in line to take the throne. Most of Lances’ stories included his older sister and it never failed to surprise Keith at just how close they were.

“What about you Keith? Any embarrassing stories from when you were a kid?” Lance scooted closer, nudging Keith with his elbow.

Keith glared at the prince from the corner of his eye. “No.”

“Aw come on, were bonding here!”

“A-are we?”

“Hmmmm I think your cheeks are a little darker…” Lance teased. Keith turned away and discreetly touched his cheek. It felt unusually warm. “Fine, fine. We’ll save that subject for another day. Hey, want to go take one of the hover bikes out for a spin?”

“Absolutely not.”

“What? Afraid we’ll get caught? Please I can get us in and out without anyone noticing.” He waved his hand and sat up confidently.

“You crashed a speeder into the hanger doors.”

Lance sputtered. “Th-that was a onetime thing! A fluke! Trust me; I can get us in and out in no problem.”

Keith stood from his spot, amused. “Little adventures to the roof top are one thing, but I am still your guard. And I am not going to let you indulge in reckless behavior anytime soon.”

“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk.”

“It’s possible.”

Lance sat for a moment longer before pushing himself up. “Fine, we won’t cause mayhem tonight. But one night, we’ll go out for a spin.”

“No.”

“You’ll see things my way.”

“I doubt it.”

Lance laughed and spun on his heel and shouldered his bag. He scurried up the slanted roof and dropped down the other side. Keith followed the prince and watched as he began trekking back to his side of the castle. Talking to Lance was enjoyable. Almost what he would consider fun. Before he even realized it, a small smile was forming on his lips.

But that smile was quickly dashed. Keith shook his head, physically trying to get all these strange thoughts out of his head. He couldn’t be feeling this way. He simply could not be growing fond of the princes’ company; or in actuality, the prince himself. Any sort of connection would only get in the way of his mission. His orders. Eventually, Keith would have to kill the prince.

Keith ran his fingers through his hair; trying in vain to push back some strands that blown loose by the breeze. Everything would just be fine if could just push past this weakness.

The walk back to the prince’s room was more like a slow climb down a mountain. Lance had led Keith to a pretty high roof top and now they had to carefully go back down all the tiled surfaces they’d climbed up. Lance seemed confident enough, bragging about coming this way when he was just 10 years old, but Keith kept a wary eye on the prince. The higher parts of the castle weren’t as well kept and he noticed some cracked tiles on their way up.

“You can stop hovering Keith. I’m not going to fall.” The prince had noticed his guard edging closer.

“I’m just… being cautious.” He subtly led Lance away from a crumbling tile.

“I think paranoid’s the right word.”

Keith didn’t answer, just sent an exasperated look the princes’ way. A soft sound caught his attention. His eyes followed the noise to the edge of the building. There was a long balcony just below them that lined the hall leading to the throne room. Keith had noticed patrols lingering there every so often. They must have been making their rounds.

In the mere seconds it took to come to that conclusion, Lance slipped. He yelped as his foot slid out from under him and landed hard on the tile. Keith seized the prince, but he was already tumbling down the slanted roof. He lunged after him, his hand reaching out to a panicked looking Lance.

Just as his torso went off the edge, Keith latched onto his arm and held it firm. Lance squealed, dangling from the side of the castle. “Q-quiznak! Keith d-don’t drop me!”

“ _Quiet.”_ he hissed. “There’s a patrol down there.”

Lance clamped his mouth shut and glanced down. His eyes grew wide. “Well what are you waiting for? Pull me up!”

Keith grunted and shifted. It’d be no use trying to pull the prince up if he was unsteady. Then they’d both topple over. Just as Keith got situated, he reached for Lance’s other arm.

“No!” the bag Lance always carried wasn’t closed. The prince scrambled, trying desperately to grab the few snacks that tumbled out of the opening. Keith cursed and yanked the prince up by his arm. It probably hurt a little, but he didn’t care at this point. Lotor would be furious with him if he and Lance were caught by the kings’ guard. He’d be taken off Lances’ service and then left to the Galra prince. And who knows what would happen then.

Keith pulled Lance away from the edge and then froze. His eyes were focused on the edge of the roof, his ears straining for any kind of sound. There was the faint sound of the cookies crumbling on the balcony; footsteps going to investigate, and then a voice from below.

“What was that?”

“We have to move.” Keith’s training kicked in and now all he could think about was the fastest route back to Lance’s room. The prince didn’t even have time to process his words before Keith was pulling him along.  

Their footsteps pounded against the stonework, each step sounding like an explosion. But Keith knew it wasn’t that bad. Sure they were being louder than normal, but his senses were on overdrive trying to keep them unnoticed. His mind was split between running with Lance and straining to hear any approaching guards. They were far enough away from Lance’s room to avoid suspicion, but his weakness for sweet treats might be their down fall. Everyone in the castle knew about his audacious sweet tooth.

Given that and the fact that Lance was known to sneak out, Keith reasoned that they would check on the prince first. So he needed to beat them back.

Lance was panting, tripping every so often when they went from a flat to a slanted surface. He didn’t stop moving, didn’t stop running as fast as Keith. He also held onto the Galra’s hand like it was the only thing keeping him from falling off the roof again.

The pair carefully scrambled down the roof to where Lance’s balcony jutted out. Keith gripped the prince’s forearm and slowly lowered him over the edge. Lance let go, dropping the rest of the way. Keith ducked back over the ledge already planning to head towards the window he normally climbed though.

“Keith!” the prince whispered harshly.

The young Galra groaned and turned back. “What?!”

“What the quiznak are you doing?”

“Going to the window.”

He could see Lance roll his eyes. “Just go through my room you big dummy!”

Keith grumbled glancing back towards the window for a moment. His ear flew back as Lance called him again. Keith rolled his eyes and pushed off the edge of the building, landing softly on the stone. Lance jumped a little but quickly regained himself and pushed open the door.

The two hurried inside, Keith flipping the latch on the door closed and hurried to the hall. He couldn’t help but take in Lance’s room as he hurried along. It was big, ornate and a little bit eclectic. There were odd decorations hanging from the bed frame, handmade trinkets lining the shelves and random bits of clothing scattering the room. It suited him.

Lance chucked his bag into his wardrobe, burying it behind a pile of shoes. He hurried over to his bed and yanked off the covers.

Keith paused at the door, listening.

“Is anyone out there?” the prince asked hesitantly.

He shushed Lance, pressing his ear to the door. Besides his own breathing and Lance’s panicked whimpers, it was silent. “It’s clear. For now.”

Keith opened the door and stepped out taking his usual position. Lance poked his head out the door and glanced down the hall.

“Do you think they’ll come check on me?” he whispered.

“Maybe… I’m not sure. We were kind of far, but the cookies you dropped were your favorite. They might suspect you.”

Lance grumbled. “That’s what I get for not closing my bag… and how did you know they’re my favorite?”

“Because you always have them in your bag.” His head shot to the end of the hall. “ _Get inside.”_ He whispered in a rush.”

Lance ducked back inside, closing the door quietly. A few moments later a tall Altean guard strode down the hall. He nodded, waving a little as he approached.

“Evening.” He greeted. Keith nodded in response, his expression the perfect image of composure. “Had any trouble with our prince tonight?” His tone was casual, but Keith knew better.

“None at all. His Highness had been in his room all night.” The Altean didn’t look too convinced as he not so subtly glanced at the door. “Is something wrong?” Keith asked, trying to feign innocence.

“No no, not at all. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to check on the prince.” He didn’t wait for Keith to answer and pushed open the door. The Altean only opened it a crack, just so that he could look inside. Keith hoped that Lance was good at acting as he was at talking. He breathed a sigh of relief when the man closed the door and smiled.

“Looks like you were right. Prince Lance had been pretty well behaved after you showed up. You have all our thanks, Kivach.”

Keith was a little startled that this man knew his name. But then he realized that he’d seen him before, standing next to King Alfor as consistently at Keith stood next to Lance. What was he doing checking up on the prince? Putting those thoughts aside, Keith nodded.

“I’m simply doing my duty, sir.”

“Well keep up the good work. See you around, solider.” The Altean clasped him on the shoulder and then left. Keith watched him disappear down the hall and continued to listen until his footsteps were completely gone.

“Whew… I thought we were goners.” Lance suddenly appeared in the door. Keith jumped, too focused on the guard to even notice his appearance. “Whoa there, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to surprise you.”

Keith narrowed his amber eyes. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Still a little hyped up on adrenaline.” He shrugged, his loose fitting night shirt sliding down his shoulder. “And also… I didn’t get a chance to say thanks. So… thank you Keith. I’d hate to imagine what would have happened if I’d fallen and gotten caught.”

“Me too.” For a moment, Keith thought about Lotor and his legendary anger. Emperor Zarkon wouldn’t care as much that Keith ruined his son’s plan. Based on his last interaction with the Galra leader, he would probably find Keith’s mess up amusing. But that wouldn’t mean he’d be safe from his son. Keith pushed down any fear he might have felt for failing his mission and looked back at Lance. “Perhaps you could… not go on any adventures? At least for a little while?”

Why he felt bad for asking was beyond him, but one look at Lance’s gloomy expression was enough to make him want to take it back.

“You’re probably right. We shouldn’t go anywhere for a while. But if it’s alright with you, I’d still like to talk to you some nights.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s not like we can talk this casually during the day. Not with all those stuffy lords and commanders around.”

He had a point. The difference between the two of them from night to day was astonishing. “I guess… I guess that would be fine.”

“Good. Welp, I should get some beauty rest. Got another big day ahead tomorrow. Oh and Keith?”

“Yes?”

Lance leaned again the door jamb, his eyes fliting up to meet Keith’s. “I like your hair like that. You should wear it down more often.”

And with that, Lance disappeared behind the door. Keith was confused at first, until he looked up. His usual swept back bangs had come loose during their escapade. Dark strands of hair were hanging at the edge of his vision, framing his face. Almost immediately, Keith went to fix it. To push it back like he always had. His hand froze in midair as Lance’s word came back to him in a rush.

_I like your hair like that._

A strange feeling in his chest made him panic. Keith took a few quick breaths willing it to go away. But it wouldn’t. His heart was beating faster and faster, almost like he was in the middle of a fight. Keith closed his eyes, but all he could see was Lance. That sliver hair, his bright eyes, that carefree smile. It all turned black as his mind keep repeating over and over again: _you have to kill him. You have to destroy that smile._

The order was absolute and yet here he was, all the sudden wishing that it wasn’t.

* * *

 

The conversation carried on around him and no one really cared if he was listening or not. Lance was leaning heavily on the armrest with his good arm. His right arm felt a little sore after Keith had hoisted him on the roof last night. There was definitely a bruise growing in the spot he latched onto him, but Lance was impressed more than anything. Keith had caught him easily, with no strain whatsoever on his face. He must be incredibly strong.

A peal of laughter brought him out of his thoughts. It was Lotor, the Galra prince. Just like Keith, Lotor was very different from the rest of the Galra. But unlike Keith, there was something about the prince that made him uncomfortable. This laughter being one of them.

Lotor somehow always made himself the center of attention at dinner. However it all felt forced. Like he was trying to dissuade attention from something else. But that was ridiculous. What would the Galra have to hide?

Another unnerving thing was the looks Lotor would give not only him, but his sister as well. The first time he noticed the prince staring at him, he thought it was just a harmless little thing. That Lotor was too busy concentrating on something to realize he was staring. But then it happened more often. Lance would practically feel the other prince’s sharp yellow eyes boring into him for some unknown reason. When he’d turn to confirm it, he’d catch a glimpse of something haughty in Lotor’s eyes. Haughty and something that might have resembled hunger.

When it came to Allura, the Galra prince usually stared at her in confusion. Like she was an impossible puzzle he was trying to solve. Every once and a while his eyes would flicker into something unreadable before he turned back to the conversations at hand like nothing had happened.

Lance knew he was probably just overthinking things. His father always said that he had an overactive imagination. There was no reason to suspect anything of Lotor, after all. His mind was probably just playing tricks on him.

As the main course was served, Lance sat up and waited patiently for his food. Years of etiquette training practically dominated his actions at the dinner table, but with the way his stomach was growling he was ready to toss all that out the window and dive in with his hands.

After last night’s excitement, Lance decided to lay off any sort of misbehavior until the vein in Keith’s forehead finally went away. His guard was on high alert, still a little worried that someone might realize that they were the ones on the rooftop last night. So this morning, Lance didn’t sneak into the kitchen to refill his treat stash and was starving because of it. Allura had pouted a bit too when she realized that he didn’t have any tarts for her come time for their lessons.

Lance held back, cutting off reasonable sized pieces of meat before bringing it to his lips. The sweet meat made him hum in happiness as his father and sister chatted animatedly next to him. Fully prepared to ignore everything in favor of concentrating on his food, the topic of their conversation reeled him back in.

“Voltron? Isn’t that a fairytale?” he turned, wondering what brought this up. Alfor had told both his children about the legendary defender. When they were both very young and curled up in bed, the covers drawn around them. It seemed to be an odd subject to have at a dinner table with lords, commanders and kings.

“Yes it is.” Alfor nodded. “And apparently it is one that has travelled across galaxies. How did you first hear the story, Prince Lotor?”

The prince leaned forward. “Through my mother of course. She was quiet the storyteller, you see and the story of Voltron was always my favorite. The Five Lions, the paladins… as a child I always wished that story were true.”

Alfor chuckled. “Lance felt the same way. I still remember how disappointed you were when you realized it was just a story.” His father’s gaze was playful and full of fondness.

Lance grumbled. “Next to me realizing that Allura was lying when she said she could do magic, that was the greatest disappointment of my young life.”

Nearly everyone at the table chuckled at his joke. Lance went back to focusing on his meal. It was kind of amazing that a fairytale like Voltron had traveled that far in the universe. What was it about that story that made it so popular?

Dinner continued as normal, Lance engulfing his food as fast as his manners would allow. After slipping a few extra cookies into his pocket, the prince excused himself and headed to the door.

Keith’s soft footsteps were behind him in an instant. Lance had come to memorize the sound after a months’ worth of knowing the Galra. He was delight to see that Keith hadn’t pushed his bangs back when he met with him that morning. The fell almost perfectly on his face, not hiding his eyes but emphasizing them well. They really were the most lovely shade of amber Lance had ever seen.

The prince nearly tripped on the carpet at that thought. He turned to Keith and mumbled something about being clumsy. The second he looked at those eyes, he could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. He spun around quickly and almost ran into a wall.

Lance laughed it off and practically barreled down the hallway to his room. Since when did he think Keith was attractive? When did he begin to think that those gleaming amber eyes were the most beautiful color in the galaxy? When did his feelings change? When did he start feeling any of this at all?

The doors to his bedroom approached quickly and Lance ducked inside with a quick ‘goodnight’ to Keith. The prince leaned against the door and stared vacantly into his messy room. For a brief moment he was appalled that Keith had seen his room in such a disarray, but then he circled back around to why that bothered him so much.  

Waving his hand near the control panel by the door, the lights faded on making it even clearer just how much he needed to clean up. Lance dragged himself to his wardrobe and the wide vanity that sat next to it. He unlatched his cape, unbuttoned his shirt and hung the two up neatly. He slipped on a more comfortable top before settling down in the seat in front of the mirror.

His eyes went instantly to the sliver circlet on his brow. A shiny teal gem sat in the middle and it matched perfectly to the marks on his cheeks. He grimaced for a second at the freckles that pooled there as well. Both Allura and his father didn’t have them, and as far as he could remember his mother didn’t either. Just a strange little oddity that made him stick out even more.

Lance was never going to take the throne; he wasn’t very good at politics. He was good at talking to people, getting them to smile and feel at ease. At most he’d probably be an ambassador for Allura, but even then he’d probably feel like he wasn’t contributing much. Much like how he felt now. Sitting on the edges of important conversations while the more capable people took care of things.

Lance took a few deep breaths and tried to calm all these thoughts from taking over yet again. This feeling, this- _fear_ had rooted itself deep into his heart long ago when he came to the sudden realization that he wasn’t as important as his sister. That he wasn’t as special.

Confessing those feeling to his father one night long ago nearly made the man crumble in front of him. Alfor assured his son that none of that was true. That Lance had his own unique power and strengths that are invaluable. That everyone who met him loved him not because of his status, but because of his playful and kind heart. His words were full of reassurance and light, but it didn’t quite work to change his mind. The darkness still lingered.

That was the reason Lance wanted so desperately to travel the stars. He wanted to find his purpose and for some strange reason he knew deep down that it wasn’t here on Altea. Somewhere amongst those stars, he was sure to find something great. Something that made him feel like he wasn’t just an extra.

Lance carefully took off his circlet and set it in the satin cushion on his vanity. Free of its weight, he began going through his nightly routines, effectively wasting time before going to bother Keith.

Developing feelings aside, he still wanted to talk to the Galra after a long day of being royalty. Lance took his time; applying a generous amount of cream to his face before leaning back in his chair and waiting for it for it to dry. While Allura spent most of her beauty regiment on her hair, he preferred spending time on his skin. He went to his large bath room and began scrubbing the mask off once it had done its job.

After a good amount of time passed, Lance went to the door. Right away he knew that he couldn’t sneak up on Keith tonight. As soon as he peaked out one of those fluffy ears was already angled in his direction.

“I’m bored.” He mused, leaning on the door handle.

Keith sighed. “Then find something to do.”

“I want to talk to you.” Lance was delighted to see the slight hitch in his shoulders. He pushed the door open wider as an invitation. “Come on. Let sit out on the balcony.”

For a moment, he feared that Keith wouldn’t come. That after last night, even venturing into the princes room would be off limits. Lance held his smile firmly in place and tried not to let his worry show through.

With a final glance down the hall, Keith nodded.

Delighted, Lance led the Galra into his room. His happy feeling was quickly dashed as he realized (yet again) that Keith was walking through his messy room. He sighed, wondering why he didn’t straighten up a bit before inviting him in.

Lance pushed back the curtains and unlocked the balcony door. He pushed both of them open wide reveled in the cool night air. Both moons were only half visible, their cycle beginning to dwindle down. Lance went to hop up on the rail but one disapproving look from Keith made him reconsider. He leaned up against it instead.

For once Lance wasn’t quite sure what to say. He was usually very confident around others, but after realizing the budding feeling of friendship or romance or _whatever_ , he felt his throat go dry. For the second time, Keith started the conversation.

“Is that a bruise?”

“Huh?”

“On your arm… is that a bruise?”

Lance looked down and remembered the dark mark on his arm. “Oh yeah. I think it’s from last night when you grabbed me. You know, after I nearly _fell to my death_.” He emphasizes the last bit dramatically, putting on a mock look of despair.

“I… I did that?” He heart nearly collapsed on itself at the tone of Keith’s voice. Lance quickly looked at the Galra in surprise. His amber eyes were locked on the mark, wide and guilt ridden. His shoulders had sunk down and his ever expressive ears were drooped so far down it was like someone had attached weights to them.

Lance sputtered, a desperate panic enveloped him. “I-it’s not that bad! I swear! Keith, it’s just a little bruise… and besides, things would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t caught me.”

His words did nothing as Keith eyes sunk to the ground between them. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I promise. Don’t look so- so sad about it. It doesn’t even hurt.” Lance wasn’t sure what to. He didn’t know how to comfort Keith. He barely knew how to talk to him. Going on instincts, Lance raised a shaky hand and put it on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith was short for a Galra, but still a few inches taller than Lance. With that in mind, the prince ducked down a bit to try and find his eyes underneath that mass of black hair. “Keith? Are you alright? It’s really okay. You don’t have to feel bad about it.”

One of his ears twitched upward and Lance grinned. For as calm and collected as his expression was, the fluffy Galra ears were as animated as Lance hyped up on sweets. Over the past few weeks, he was getting pretty good at reading what the little motions meant. He dropped his hand to his side.

Suddenly the desire to know more about Keith took over. “Can I ask you something?”

Both ears twitched as Keith finally looked up. “Um… yes?”

“Where’s your family? I mean, you’re always with me. Do you get to see them at all?” Why he started with this line of questioning was beyond him, but it’s not like he hadn’t thought about it before. Lance would probably become depressed if he didn’t get a chance to spend time with Allura every day.

Keith stood up a little straighter, his eyes looking just past Lance. “I don’t have any family here.” He said simply.

“Y-you don’t? Wait did they… were they on your planet when- when…” he hadn’t even considered that option when he asked. And now Lance was the one feeling terrible.

“No, it’s not like that. You see…” his ears moved randomly as Keith tried to gather his thoughts. He turned towards the wide view of the capital and spoke. “I don’t know where my family is.”

“You don’t know?”

“No. I never knew my father, and my mother disappeared a long time ago. She was the one who always used to call me Keith. It was her name for me.”

Lance felt something warm pool in his chest. He couldn’t help but smile a little.

Caught in his memories, Keith went on. “My mom… she was the best. She was so strong and confident. Everyone respected her. Even though people would sometimes give her strange looks or sometimes even mean ones, she never let it get to her.”

“Why did people do that?” he asked, only vaguely aware that he might be prying a little too much.

“I never really knew why. Sometimes I thought it was because of me.”

“Because of you? What makes you say that?”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I’m not like the other Galra. I’m not big enough, strong enough and I look different. Just different enough for others to notice.” Keith’s hands were balled into fists at his side. “Every once and a while, I catch a sneer aimed at me. But my mother always insisted that I did nothing wrong. It was just an old grudge that some couldn’t let go.”

It took a few moments, but Keith relaxed again. His hands opening up and resting on the ledge in front of him as he took in the view.

“I was about 7 I think when she left. And I still don’t know what happened. One day she was just… gone.”

Lance edged closer to Keith, wanting so badly to put his hand on top of his. After a moment of thought, Lance realized that he wasn’t usually the type to shy away from something like this. He gently placed his hand on top of Keith’s marveling at how warm it was. From the corner of his eye he could see those amber eyes darting in his direction. By some miracle, Keith didn’t pull away.

“I’m sorry. Truly I am.” He spoke quietly.

“Thank you.”

Lance squeezed that warm soft hand once more before letting go. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?”

“Did you know that every once and a while, acid falls from the sky?”

“W-what? You can’t be telling the truth.”

“I’m serious. It’s actually quiet lovely.”

* * *

 

Keith’s legs were bouncing up and down in anticipation. Another two weeks had passed and Lotor was summoning him again. There were only two reasons that the prince might want to meet him and both left a terrible taste in his mouth that reminded him of bile. The first subject the prince might want to discuss was more about Lances’ habits and by extension, Alluras’. The second… well the second wasn’t something that the young Galra wanted to think about.

His mind was in utter agony every time he some much as looked at the prince. Lance’s kindness was completely new to him and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t matter. What had started out as a simple assignment became a strange mixture of happiness and torture as Keith was reminded everyday about what he was ordered to do.

The time would come where Lotor would order him to do. When the Galra finally flipped the switch on their kind hosts and took the planet for themselves. At the beginning of all this, Keith didn’t really care about the oncoming bloodshed. Now however he wished that he had remained on his home planet while it burned so that he’d never have to deal with this dreadful situation in the first place. It was truly amazing how quickly he had changed.

As Keith sat outside of Lotor’s study, waiting to be called in, he wondered vaguely if he had changed at all. He’d always been a little more sympathetic then his peers. A weakness, his hard trained mind instantly corrected.

Maybe it wasn’t a weakness. Maybe, just maybe…. it was-

The door swung open and Keith was on his feet in a second. “I understand your highness. On my pride as a Galra, I will follow through with your orders.”

“Very good. I will see you when this is all over, Commander Thace. Vrepit Sa.”

“Vrepit Sa.”

Thace glanced at Keith, his expression unreadable. He turned and left without so much as a nod in his direction.

“Ah, Kivach. My favorite little soldier.” Lotor had turned his attention to Keith. He turned back to his study without saying anything else. Keith followed, his body reacting more than anything. He didn’t want to be here. He really didn’t want to be here.

Lotor stopped at his desk and turned, leaning back and locking his yellow eyes on his subordinate. Keith crossed his arms behind his back and remained composed.

“I have a feeling you might know what I called you here for.”

Keith had a few theories, and he so desperately wished for the first one to be true. “Yes sir.”

“I have devised a way to take out the princess without your assistance. She was the last piece of the puzzle. In three quintents, we will begin our attack on the Altean’s and claim this planet. My father has already decided to take King Alfor for himself. And you Kivach. You have the honor of killing the prince.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love those bonding moments.   
> I honestly didn't expect to finish this chapter so quickly. Sorry in advance if the next one isn't up as quick, cuz i can already tell you that shit is about to go down. Ugh i'm so excited to get into this, y'all have no idea. 
> 
> Anywho, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith struggles with what to do but is quickly running out of time. Oblivious, Lance decides to take a certain risk. Neither of these matter when the Galra decide to set their plans in motion.

The warm glow of morning slipped past a small opening in the curtains. The yellow light fell right on Lance’s face, effectively waking him from the pleasant dream he was having. He yawned loudly, stretching as he did so. His sleep tired body groaned and creaked as he was slowly becoming more awake.

Out of habit (a still somewhat new habit) Lance looked at his bedroom doors. Two familiar shadows lingered in the small space between the door and the floor. The sight made him grin.

If Lance were to ask himself why he enjoyed the company of his imposed Galra guard so much, he couldn’t give a straight answer. Keith was pretty quiet most of the time, but when he did open up he always got this far off almost dreamy look in his eyes. It was such a soft expressions from what he normally wore that Lance found it hard to look away.

The young Galra was very serious; always following the rules and proper procedures especially whenever the two of them were within earshot of a third party. That formality lingered sometimes when they were alone but that only made Lance giggle in triumph when he was finally able to crack that façade.

He was funny when he wasn’t even trying, kind even though he doubted it, and he listened to Lance like he was telling him the secrets of the universe. Yes, Lance liked his guard very much.

Going through the motions of getting ready, Lance tried to decide the best way to make Keith laugh. Most jokes flew over the boy’s ears or confused him thoroughly when he took them too seriously. Once he got the Galra to smile. It was small and so very obvious that he was trying to hide it, but that just made the little curve of his lips that much more adorable. But Lance was nothing but determined and he was going to hear that laugh before tomorrow.

One step outside his door told him that wasn’t going to happen. “Keith? Are you alright?”

Keith didn’t even look his way; his eyes firmly focused on the opposite wall. His ears were standing straight up and were perfectly still. It wasn’t a position he’d seen before. When he spoke, his voice was an echo of stoic tone he used when they first met. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it.” He answered almost instantly. Lance frowned, concern pulling his brows together. “I guess I’ll just wait until you’re ready to tell me. You can tell me, you know? I don’t just talk well, I can listen too.” He joked, hoping to get the other to relax.

Keith glanced over at the prince, his amber eyes unreadable. His head dipped in a small nod and then he turned and waited for Lance to lead.

A little puff of relief cleared Lance’s mind. Whatever was troubling Keith clearly was taking a toll, but at least he agreed to let Lance help. With that in mind, the prince practically bounded down the hall, eager to see what was for breakfast.

* * *

 

 Time was passing quickly. Far too quickly. Every hour felt like seconds as the time sped up and pushed Keith closer and closer to that dreaded day. To that day when this impossible dream would end, and he would watch as a beautiful bright patch of the universe was shattered. Then his mind would so adamantly remind him that he wasn’t just going to watch the Alteans be destroyed, he was going to be an active participant. His stomach lurched every time.

More than anything, he wanted to stay away from Lance. He wanted the prince to stop talking to him, to stop smiling at him, to just stop being kind and so _quiznaking_ happy all the time.

A single huff of laughter escaped his lips. Even the prince’s funny curse words were beginning to rub off on him.

He followed his charge out into the courtyard of the castle. Lance and his sister were taking a stroll outside, relaxing after their daily training. Allura had wacked her brother in the shins by accident. Really Lance should have seen it coming, but apparently he was just too slow to block the attack. He was still wearing a pout and clearly trying to make his sister feel guilty.

Keith was could hear every little inflection of the prince’s voice. Every breath, every little sigh. Without really realizing it, he was memorizing the sound of his voice. The playfulness, the happy lilt. He wanted to remember these moments. These precious precious moments before everything changed. It was the only thing he could do now that his leaders’ plans were fully in motion.

There was nothing- absolutely _nothing_ he could do to stop this.

**2 days and 11 hours left.**

But what if there was something he could do? Keith stared at the back of Lance’s chair in the meeting room. The conversation was completely lost to him while his mind concentrated on the problem.

If Keith was able to warn Lance about what was going to happen, he could save him. He could save Allura and the king. But could he be that discreet? Would Lance even trust him? Would he believe him? Or would he get angry?

Suddenly a vision of a hurt, angry Lance was clouding his mind. Lance, realizing that Keith had lied to him for so long would be so scary to see. Keith could imagine the bright blue of his eyes darkening, his brow creased with anger, his soothing voice raised and pitched aggressively.

Lance wouldn’t believe him if he told him the truth. And even if he did, he’d be so furious that he’d likely never want to see Keith again. If that was the price, he was more than willing to pay it. They would all be safe. _He_ would be safe.

Keith felt almost happy at this decision, but that lasted only until he heard the long drawl of Lotor’s voice.

Over the past month and a half, the prince had settled himself in Keith’s mind as a truly powerful leader. Why Zarkon dismissed his son for so long was beyond him. The Galra prince was charming and brilliant; his mind always analyzing the situation at hand and working it so that it played in his favor. In Keith’s mind, Lotor suddenly had a much more commanding presence then his father.

He couldn’t tell Lance. Not with a creature like Lotor looming seemingly everywhere. Somehow, someway, he would find out what Keith was trying to do. And then the Altean prince would be at his mercy, and that was even worse.

Keith racked his brain for a solution. Something that would travel underneath Lotor sharp gaze and make it to Lance unhindered. Something. _Something_. He had to think of something.

Maybe he could delay the plans for a few more days. If he and Lance were caught sneaking out, then Keith would be taken off of Lance’s service and reprimanded. Then there would be no one close enough to take out the prince while the munity took place. But that idea had glaring flaws as well.

Lotor knew Lance’s habits. He knew where he was likely to be at all hours of the day, how terrible he was in close quarter combat, he knew everything because Keith had told him. Because Keith was following orders like he’d been essentially programed to do.

If he was taken off of Lance’s service, that would only delay things by a day, maybe two at most. And then Keith would be locked up on in the prison ward of the command ship while Lance was essentially defenseless. No, there had to be another way.

There had to be a solution. One that saved them. Or even just him. Keith knew that was a horrible thought, but he couldn’t care less. He had to save him. He couldn’t be the one to end his life. He couldn’t… he just couldn’t.

There had to be a way.

**1 day and 18 hours left.**

Had he always been this dense? Was his mind not capable of coming up with a simple solution to this terrible problem? Keith never realized how much his training had affected his thoughts. Every time he told himself he couldn’t go through with his orders, a voice in the back of his mind told him he had to.

Galra followed orders.

Those who didn’t were punished.

All orders were absolute.

Keith tried to silence that voice by focusing on what was happening in front of him. They were in the throne room. All three royals seated in their respective places. The citizens of Altea were gathered to voice their concerns to the king. A young girl was hiding behind her father’s legs as he spoke to the royals. She was clutching purple plush toy in her arms and shaking. Her big eyes traveled to Lance. He smiled and her and waved. The little girl smiled back.

Even more guilt began to course its way through his veins.

**8 hours left.**

Today was a normal day, but tomorrow would be hell. Keith was standing outside of Lance’s room for the last time while the prince settled down for the night. His mind was still racing about what to do, that is if he was brave enough to do anything at all.

So far he felt like a coward. All he could do stand and watch as Lance and the rest of the Altean’s went on with their daily lives completely unaware of the danger looming over head. If he were stronger, he would have found a way to warn them. He would have figure out how to save them all. He wouldn’t be so afraid to try.

Keith had lived his entire life thinking a certain way, acting a certain way. Burying everything that made him different under years of harsh drills and cruel commands. For a moment, he thought of his mother. His strong, beautiful mother. The one person in the entire galaxy he looked up to the most. What would she think if she saw him now?

Would she be proud that he was the perfect image of a Galra soldier? Or would she be devastated to find out that he was going to aid in the destruction of an entire race? He really didn’t know.

The door creaked open. The familiar fresh scent of Lance poured from the crack before the prince poked his head out.

“Hi Keith.” He grinned. “Are you still being all strict about not going on adventures?”

Oh he thought about it. Keith had thought about taking the prince up on his idea of hijacking a hover bike and driving him far from the capitol and the danger. But it wouldn’t take long for the enemy Galra to find them. That and Lance would want to go back immediately if he knew his family and people were in danger.

Lance pouted, misreading Keith’s silence for a no. “You are no fun anymore. Well come on. I’m bored and don’t want to go to sleep yet.”

 He left the door open and Keith followed without hesitation. His feet guided him to the balcony, pulling back one side of the curtain.

“Help me with this.” Lance was pushing one of the big poufy chairs in his room towards the glass doors. Keith couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the way the prince was struggling.

Keith gently shooed Lance away and the prince bounded to the doors and opened them wide. After Keith had brought out two chairs, the two of them settled down and gazed at the moonless night sky. The stars were shimmering brighter than ever, reminding Keith of the speckles that dotted the prince’s cheeks.

Lance curled up in his chair, a blanket from the end of his bed tucked under his chin. Keith was a little wearier to relax and didn’t quiet let his back touch the plush cushions of the chair. They sat in silence for a short while before the prince turned to him.

“You know, you still haven’t told me what’s been bothering you.” Lance had proven to be extremely aware of others feeling. He always seemed to know when something was on Keith’s mind. The young Galra couldn’t decide if that was annoying or endearing. He was leaning towards the first option.

“I haven’t.” he answered. Keith still wasn’t sure what he was going to do about tomorrow. He really wanted to help Lance, to help all of them. But he just couldn’t figure out a way to save them all with the amount of time he had.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything until you want to. I know I can be a little annoying sometimes.”

“I don’t think you’re annoying.” Keith mumbled. His eyes were still focused ahead, but he could see Lance lean closer to him through his peripheral.

“Tell me more about how wonderful I am?” he said dramatically.

“No.”

Lance laughed.

The silence resumed and Keith could feel a warm little bubble beginning to rise in his chest. It was quickly shot down by another sting of guilt. What was he going to do?

“Wait here for a tick.” Lance hopped up and hurried to his room. There was a series of drawers opening and closing, a quiet _quiznak_ as the prince shut his finger in his wardrobe, until finally he emerged. Lance sat on the arm of his chair, facing Keith with something cupped in his hand. “I want to give you something.”

“W-what?”

“Just a little something to make you feel better. I don’t know what’s got your weird fuzzy brain all stressed, but I want to help. Since you don’t feel like talking about it… well I came up with this instead.”

A quick breath made the prince shoulders rise as he seemed to collect himself. He leaned over and gently took Keith’s hand, holding the palm up. Lance dropped a shiny purple stone in his hand. It gleamed in the soft light coming from room behind them, the color like no shade of purple he’d ever seen. And he was a Galra. Everything in his life was purple.

Keith held the tear drop-shaped stone up to his eyes and noticed that it was attached to a clip. It was an earring. A single earring. Keith looked up at the prince and let a surprised gasp pass though his lips. Dangling from his ear was the other. Lance tucked his hair behind his ear as if showing off the piece of jewelry proudly.

“I know it’s a little flashy. You probably can’t wear it since it’s not uniform and all, but I just… I-I wanted you to have something. From me? Something that- uh…. I actually forgot what I was going to say.” Lance flushed, the color dancing around the teal marks on his cheeks. His freckles however only got darker and Keith was left with the urge to stare at Lance’s face long enough to count them all.

The obvious embarrassment from the prince was surprising. Keith found it all too amusing to see such a confident person fall so quickly over a little purple stone. The warm feeling reared against his guilt, bursting forward in a small laugh.

The sound was foreign even to him, though the feeling was more natural than he expected. Keith laughed even more at the shocked look on Lance’s face. Pretty soon, the prince joined. The sounds of uncontrolled laughter echoing off the pale stone; loud and unabashed.

Keith was quicker to calm, slowing his laugh to a few breathy chuckles. Somehow he managed to crack an eye open and glance at Lance. He was still completely undone, clutching his side as peals of laughter fell easily from his mouth.

Looking back down as the small jewel, Keith hooked his claw under the clip and flipped it open. The small action somehow caught Lance’s attention and he watched with his mouth ajar as Keith clipped the earring to the base of his large ears. Keith toyed with the jewel with his pointed claw, growing comfortable the little sting of pressure.

“Thank you, Lance.” He breathed. “Thank you.”

Lance beamed at him, his whole being lighting up. “You’re welcome.”

A new determination flared through Keith. A fire that burned deep in his core brighter and stronger than anything he’d ever felt before. He was going to save Lance. He was going to do whatever it takes, even if it meant his own life; he was going to save Lance.

* * *

 

Lance had never felt such joy. His life had always been good, but all the sudden it was wonderful. Not only had he given the gift to Keith, but he actually managed to make the Galra laugh. And just like he thought, it was the most wonderful sound in the entire universe.

Tossing and turning in his bed all night, Lance wanted nothing more than to spend time with Keith and nurture the bond that was quickly growing between them. For a good few days, Lance had doubted everything. It wasn’t normal how they met and the fear that Keith was only acting as his guard was an ever present force on his mind. But their every interaction made him hopeful that something more was brewing in those beautiful amber eyes and last night, he found out he was right.

This was the start of something amazing.

Unable to feign sleep any longer, Lance practically jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready. He hadn’t told Allura what he’d been feeling for his Galra guard and now that the pair were wearing matching earrings, he best explain himself before she noticed. If she saw the purple earring before he had a chance to explain, she’d likely explode from several different emotions at once. As funny as that would be, Lance decided to take it easy on his sister.

Checking his reflection in the mirror once more, Lance headed out. But it wasn’t Keith outside his door. “Oh, hello.” A smooth mask slid over his face, but it didn’t stop his shoulders from sagging a bit.

“Good morning, your highness.” The Galra in front of him placed his hand in his chest and bowed. “I am Rychk.”

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled, trying his best to hide his disappointment. “If I may ask, what happened to Ke- um Kivach?”

Rychk answered almost instantly. “Kivach had an emergency he needed to attend to. His father has fallen ill.”

_Lie._

Lance put on a look of concern and raised his voice just so to be completely convincing. He said his apologies, which Rychk most likely didn’t care about and then added on a few well wishes on the end. He turned swiftly and listened as his new guard followed close behind. The guard who lied to him.

Keith never knew his father. He told Lance just a few weeks ago. And there was no way the young prince was going to believe some random Galra over Keith. So why then? Why did he lie?

Was Keith in some kind of trouble? They hadn’t snuck out in so long and the whole almost falling incident was well behind them. Lance really hoped that his friend hadn’t been replaced because of something stupid like that.

Worry began to gnaw at his belly at the thought of never seeing Keith again. There were dozens of places he could have been relocated. If he had in fact been moved at all. It didn’t make sense for this Galra to make up some excuse about Keith being gone instead of telling the truth. That could only mean that the truth was something they didn’t want Lance to know.

Worry turned into full on panic as Lance began going through all the terrible things that could have happened to Keith. What if he was in trouble? Really big trouble with the emperor? What if he was sick and they just didn’t want Lance to worry? What if… what if…

_Boom._

The ground shuttered beneath his feet. Lance nearly fell, holding out his hands to steady himself. “What the quiznak-“

_BOOM._

This time he couldn’t help from stumbling. He fell to the side, catching himself just before he fell completely on his behind. Something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” Lance pushed himself up and hurried to the nearest window. He needed to see what was going on outside. Giant windows lined the next hall and Lance skidded to a stop in front of them. His whole body froze at the sight, leaving him still as a statue while his mind tried to comprehend what was happening. “No…”

The large Galra fleet that they had welcomed into their atmosphere was looming over them. Fighter ships were pouring out from the larger ones and descending on the planet like a poisonous tidal wave. Beams of light rained down on the capital city and explosions followed in their wake. In the sky above, one of the war ships was preparing their main weapon. A glowing red spot grew bigger and brighter until it suddenly shrunk. A power full ion blast shot from the point and crashed into the city below.

Lance stumbled, the glass of the windows rattling so much he feared for a moment that they would break. It was then that his mind finally begun to register what was happening. The Galra were attacking. They had been tricked.

A streak of purple lunged at Lance and tackled him to the ground. His head hit the ground hard enough to see stars and before he could recover, thick furry hands wrapped around his neck.

Lance gasped, trying desperately to grasp at the hands that were slowly cutting off his air. He kicked and thrash underneath the weight of the Galra, absolute fury driving his movements. But it was useless. He was nothing compared to the strength of the warrior. Rychk stared at him with ugly yellow eyes, delighted in every little whine and pained gasp the prince let out.

“Oh what and honor this is.” Rychk sneered. “And here I thought the honor of killing you was going to go to that filthy little half breed. What a glorious turn of events.”

Lance was wheezing. His lungs felt like they were shrinking, constricting in on themselves after being empty for a short while.

The large Galra chuckled. “I am going to savor this honor, little prince. And when the others ask me of this moment, I will tell them how I watched the light fade from your eyes.”

If he could, Lance would have shouted all sorts of profanities at this brute. His yellow eyes and terrible sneer… was this going to be the last thing he ever saw? Lance dug his nails into Rychk’s arm, trying desperately to make sure that wasn’t true. Darkness began to cloud his vision and Rychk’s low growl like voice was fading in and out. But that didn’t save him from hearing what the Galra said earlier.

_‘And here I thought the honor of killing you was going to go to that filthy little half breed.’_

Tears pricked the corners of Lances’ eyes. He couldn’t mean Keith. Keith was- Keith wasn’t like that. He was lying. He had to by lying. Keith couldn’t- he wouldn’t. Keith would never hurt him. There was no way Keith would _kill_ him.

Black spots danced in his eyes as his consciousness began to slip away. Lance arms were losing their strength and soon enough they fell weakly to the side. This was it. This is how he would die. His eyes fluttered closed.

The next few moments were completely blank. Lance felt nothing, felt like he was nothing. The only thing holding him steady were the hands crushing his windpipe. And then suddenly, it was gone. It took forever for his sluggish body to register the change, but he could breathe again. The first few breaths were slow and then he was sucking down all the air he could in a few shorts gulps.

Lance shot back into reality, coughing and sputtering as oxygen began to rush back to his body. His raw throat burned and his neck ached with every move.

Someone was shouting his name. A strong hand on his shoulder and another stroking his cheek. They felt so very warm. And so soft. Too soft. Like fur.

Lance recoiled. The last time Galra hands were on him, he was couldn’t breathe. His back slammed into the wall behind him, his hands stinging as he pushed himself across the floor. Blinking quickly, the only thing he saw was a blurry mass of purple.

“D-don’t touc-ch me!” Speaking hurt. His voice sounded rough and wheezy, no doubt thanks to that jerk Rychk. Lance put his hand down on the ground again only to bring it back up with a yelp.

“Be careful. There’s glass on the floor.” Keith’s calm voice should have eased the tension, but instead it only made Lance feel even more confused.

“Keith?” he blinked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Before he could really focus, Keith was gone, walking briskly to the end of the hall to peer around the corner. Lance watched his fluffy ears moving to every little sound that radiated through the castle. The explosions and fighters outside sounding much louder than before.

Lance shifted, wincing when his hand stung again. Glass littered the floor and one of the large windows next to him had a gaping hole. The only thing that was missing was- “Where’s Rychk?” he asked in a panic.

“Gone.” The gruffness of that statement was alarming. Keith plodded back to Lance, his attention shifting between either ends of the hall. One hand reached for him and Lance hesitated. It didn’t go unnoticed. “We have to keep moving. There will be more.”

Lance knew his breathing was finally under control, but it felt like his heart and mind were still reeling from the lack of oxygen. He focused on what he knew and tried to steady himself. The Galra were attacking. Keith was a Galra. This morning, Keith was gone and Rychk took his place. Rychk just tried to kill him. And judging from the broken window and lack of a body, Keith chucked the other Galra out of the window. But there was still too much he didn’t know, and that only made him weary. With the impeding explosions behind him and his need for answers growing, Lance took the offer.

Keith hoisted him up with ease, curiously not making eye contact once.

“Follow me.” He kept a hold of Lance’s arm. It was a mirror image of when they ran on the rooftops but the danger far more real. Another rumble and loud boom from the ion cannon made him stumble.

“Keith- what’s going on?” Lance asked, desperation tinging his voice. Silence was the only thing that answered. “What is the Galra fleet attacking for? Why is this happening? Keith?!”

Lance yanked his arm, trying and failing to escape Keith’s strong grip. He turned slightly, his eyes barely peeking through his messy hair. “We don’t have time to talk.”

“Yes we do!” Lance planted his feet and pulled back hard, forcing Keith to stop or else pull the princes’ arm out of his socket. Going off of how fast Keith took down a far bigger Galra like Rychk, it probably would be very easy for him to do just that.

Lance stared at the back of Keith’s head. He still refused to turn around. “Tell me what’s going on.” He said firmly.

“Lance we don’t have-“

“Someone just tried to _murder_ me, Keith! My people- my planet is under attack from _your_ fleet! I deserve to know what’s going on!”

The weight of reality settled over the two of them like a searing wind. The events going on outside the castle and beyond were like some sick and twisted nightmare that Lance had never imagined even in his darkest moments. His people were suffering. Many of them might have already perished. And he almost joined them in one slow, agonizing moment. But the physical he felt pain was nothing compared to the pain for his people.

Taking a moment to settle, Lance wiggled his hand until it was grasping Keith’s and tugged him to the nearest door. “We really don’t have time-“

“You can spare a few ticks to explain.” The prince shot back coldly. A sting of regret made him waver as he saw Keith’s ears drop slightly. He still wouldn’t look at him.

Lance opened the door carefully, just in case there were any waiting Galra on the other side. Confirming that is was empty, he led them inside.

It was an empty study, one that hadn’t been used in years. Lance remembered the time before Coran was his tutor and the stuffy lady who’d teach him would pace this floor endlessly. Reciting mundane passages out of the history books while she tried to teach him about his family’s legacy. He always thought she was boring and weird, but now the only thought that crossed his mind was whether or not she was alive right now.

Pushing that aside, he finally let go. Keith’s hand flopped uselessly to his side, his head dipped down and his bangs still covering his eyes. Why was he refusing to look at him? Lance could guess, but he needed to be sure. In the dim lit of the room, that’s when he noticed something unexpected.

“Keith… you’re bleeding.” The side of his uniform had been slashed and dark liquid was dripping from the wound. Lance could see a hint of pink flesh hiding behind tuffs of fur. “Did he- did Rychk do that to you?”

“No. This is from Lotor.” Keith covered the wound with his hand. Immediately Lance noticed that it was already coated in dark dried blood. Taking a step forward, Lance tried to calm himself.

“You need to tell me what happened and what’s happening outside.” His firm voice perfectly hid just how scared he was. He braved a few more steps, desperately searching for those amber eyes. After an agonizing amount of silence Lance reached for Keith, bringing his hand to rest on his cheek. The thin compact fur felt unusually warm and he could have sworn it was pulsing. When Keith finally looked up, he realized why.

A sickening bruise covered the left side of his face. It distorted both the shape and color of his cheek and had begun growing around one precious eye, the amber glow only a sliver of what it should be.

“Oh Keith… what happened to you?” His anger and confusion melted at the state of his Keith. Who would want to hurt him like this? And for what purpose? Suddenly, Lance realized that Keith had already told him who was responsible. “Prince Lotor did this to you?”

The young Galra nodded solemnly.

“Is he the reason… is he the reason for the attack?”

Another nod.

“But why? Why would he do this? Any of it?! It doesn’t make sense!”

Anger began to bubble to the surface yet again and staring at Keith’s injuries only seemed to rile him up more. A gentle hand covered his shaking one as Keith slowly removed them both from his cheek. He held on a moment longer before taking a step back and letting go. Lance stared, confused at the space now between them.

With his amber eyes now firmly staring at the floor, Keith began to explain. “After we destroyed our planet, Emperor Zarkon and Prince Lotor planned to take your planet as their own. Our entire stay here, the peaceful delegations, everything was just to curb suspension until Lotor came up with a plan to take over the planet with as little casualties to their troops as possible. I… I was assigned to you with specific orders.”

Lance was watching him talk with wide eyes, his whole body shaking. That didn’t stop him from noticing how Keith trailed off at the end. He just had to know. “W-what were your orders?”

He didn’t want to know. There was no part of his being that wanted his fears confirmed. But Rychk all but spelled it out for him when he was choking the life out of him. Lance didn’t want to know, but his need for the truth diminished his wants.

“ _Keith_. What were your orders?”

Finally, he looked up. The usual beautiful amber glow of his eyes were dull and flat. “I was ordered to kill you, Lance.”

Now he understood the distance between them, but it didn’t feel like there was enough of it. It was like he was choking again. The weight of the truth pressing down on him and forcing him to take a few steps back. Suddenly feeling very cold, Lance wrapped his arms around his chest, willing this terrible chill out of his heart.

Keith was made his bodyguard just so that he could kill him. Wonderful Keith, with ridiculous fluffy ears and beautiful eyes. Keith who was took things way too seriously to the point that it was hilarious. Kind kind Keith, who noticed so much but said so very little. He was assigned to murder him.

All the sudden, Lance’s mind replay Rychk’s attack. Instead of seeing that burly Galra, he saw Keith. Lithe and nimble Keith staring down at him with hatred in his eyes and his sharp teeth exposed by a scowl. The gruff voice that spoke those terrible words were morphed until he could only imagine Keith saying them. Keith saying those things, hurting him, choking him. Tears began to cloud his eyes.

“Lance…?”

“When did you know?” Lance’s voice waivered.

“Know? Know what?”

“When did you know that you were supposed to kill me?” The question hung in the air like a stale smell. Lance finally looked up to meet Keith’s gaze but he didn’t try to understand it at all. “Did you know this whole time? Or did you just find out?”

“I- I don’t see why that matters.” Keith stiffened; his one good eye narrowing.

“It matters. I just like to know if you were lying to me the whole time or if this is as much a shock to you as it is to me.”

Keith put on a passive expression, not giving away anything. “I knew from the moment I assigned to be your guard.”

What little restraint Lance had left fell with a resounding crash. “S-so… this whole time… you were just _lying_ to me? Just biding your time until your leaders told you to m-murder me? This is… I can’t… I can’t believe how _stupid_ I was…”

Keith was giving him nothing. His face just a blank and docile as the first time they met. However if it wasn’t for his own anger, Lance would have noticed the young Galra trembling like a frightened animal.

Lance began to pace, like his teacher from long ago. He ran his hands through his hair, bumping up against his circlet and feeling another wave of guilt hitting him as he thought about his planet. He began to mumble under his breath, unable to control his thoughts. “I can’t believe- I can’t believe I trusted you so easily… I should have known. I should have _known_. It was too easy… too nice… too perfect…”

Keith cleared his throat, his voice only half of what it usually was. “Lance. We have to keep moving.”

“I know that!” he snapped. This time he saw how Keith flinched but didn’t let it affect him. “Just- just tell me one thing, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lance strengthened himself and took a deep breath. “What changed?”

Keith frowned, one ear perking up a bit higher. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what changed from when we met till now? You were gone this morning and I… according to you, I should have been dead. So what changed?”

Another cringe and Keith’s eyes and ears dropped. The almost defeated expression on his face should have left Lance feeling remorse, but the anger that still flowed thought him dulled that feeling.

“Lance, you know what changed.” Keith was looking at him now. That blank look that Lance thought he was putting up actually relieving something more. Something profound. Lance could feel the anger slowly ebbing away replaced with something he didn’t dare put a name too.

Keith clenched onto his wound tighter, the pain somehow grounding his trembling body. “Yes, I knew from the start that I was the one who was supposed to end your life and to be honest, the knowledge didn’t bother me.”

Lance flinched, instinctively taking a small step back. If Keith noticed, he didn’t react.

“I can’t tell you exactly when I changed my mind. When I decided that I couldn’t carry out my orders, but after a while I realized that I’d rather have died trying to escape my burning planet then take part in your murder-“

“Keith…” Lance felt his chest ache at that statement. He said it with such a serious expression that Lance knew he was telling the truth. And, as was being drilled into him over and over again recently, the truth hurt.

“I didn’t know what to do. I knew that I was being watched- my mission was too important. So I couldn’t warn you or anything without it backfiring on me. I wracked my brain for days but couldn’t think of anything that could save you all. But early this morning, I realized that I had to risk it. So I went your tutor.”

“C-Coran? You told him?”

“Yes. And he didn’t believe me.”

“Of course he didn’t. Coran’s the kind of person who needs proof.”

“That’s was my problem. But I convinced him to follow me to the roof. I borrowed your telescope and showed him how the fleet was beginning to mobilize and then we noticed the refugee village was full of activity. They were preparing for war. After that, Coran agreed to help. He said that he was going to warn the people and tried to get most of them evacuated before the Galra realized.”

“And you?” Lance asked, his eyes resting on the slash on his side. “You still haven’t told me why Lotor-“ And then Lance realized what had happened. “…they caught you, didn’t they? Caught you trying to help us.”

Keith nodded grimly, the memory still fresh. “I had learned from eavesdropping that right after the attack begun, an assassin was going to go after your sister. I put an end to that plan and was on my way to your father when I was caught. Lotor didn’t take too kindly to my actions.”

A different sort of fury built up in the back of Lance’s mind. He knew there was something unsettling about the Galra prince but he didn’t quiet expect this cruelty.

“After I was found out, Lotor and Zarkon decided to speed things up. I- I managed to get way but that didn’t help anything. It’s because of me that things are moving so quickly. I- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You did everything you could.” Lance said quickly. Pushing aside any fear he had, the prince took a few long strides over and put his hands on Keith’s shoulders. “You saved me, Keith. And you saved my sister. You got told Coran what’s happening and-“

“Just let me say this. _Please_ Lance.” Keith was practically begging. After a moment, Lance nodded for him to continue. “I’m sorry, Lance. I’m sorry that we took advantage of your kindness, that we’re attacking you now. I’m sorry for everything that’s happening- everything that still might happen. I just… I wish things were different.”

_Me too._ Lance thought sadly. Things had been so good. So perfect. And now in the span of a few moments, everything was ruined. Keith was hurt, his family was in danger and his whole word was thrown into chaos. If only things were different.

Just as he was about to comfort Keith, his head spun around to the door. “They found us.”

Lance didn’t have time to react before Keith begun barricading the door.

“What are you doing?! Just stay quiet and maybe they won’t hear us.” Lance reasoned.

“That won’t work. I left a trail.” Keith grabbed the bookshelf closes to the door and pulled. The heavy shelf fell on its side, perfectly crashing in front of the door. He turned to the desk, to the chair, piling things on top of one another at a frantic pace.

Lance watched, utterly in awe of just how strong Keith was. But there wasn’t time for that. Knowing that he’d be useless trying to move the furniture, Lance hurried to the window. There was no other doors in here, the he knew from losing a game of hide and seek here with Allura. But maybe they could escape out the window.

The sky was full of Galra and Altean ships. Sleek white ships were outnumbered by darker ones; the speed of the two flying across the sky was astounding. Lance stared at the frightening lack of Altean ships in the sky. Either many of them were already beaten, or the Galra had found a way to ground half of their fleet.

The window swung open, all the heat and smoke from the fighting hitting Lance in the face. Things looked truly terrible. But he couldn’t focus on that now. He had to get out. He had to get to Allura, to his father.

“Keith! We can escape through here!” Lance yanked off his cape and tossed it to the side. Keith was pushing against the pile of junk in front of the door, bouncing every once and a while. The Galra outside were trying to bang down the door.

Keith winced after a particularly hard jolt. “Just go! I’ll catch up!”

“Keith-“

“Go Lance!” Wood cracked near his head; a thin blade forced it way through multiple layers of the barricade. “GO!”

Lance wanted to stay, he wanted nothing more than to help. But what could he do? He was unarmed and weak and so very scared. He willed his legs to move and just hoped that Keith wouldn’t be far behind.

The thick window ledge gave him plenty of space to maneuver. After crawling out, the wind whipped at his clothes and hair, making himself grateful that he ditched his cape. If he was still wearing that heavy piece of fabric it likely would have thrown him off balance and made him tumble off the ledge.

Lance stood, looking up for something to grab onto. Pushing down his fear, Lance stretched for the nearest ledge. Thankful for his height, Lance pulled himself up.

It was a different window, a different part of the castle, but climbing like this brought back all his memories of sneaking out of his bedroom window. He could do this, just think about all those nights, this isn’t any different, just focus.

Everything shook when Lance was mere inches from the roof. His foot slipped as a result and Lance yelped in fear. His fingers and arms were straining to hold his weigh while his shoes racked the side of the building looking for a purchase. Once his foot made contact with something solid, Lance pushed himself up and latched on to the edge of the roof. With a final surge of strength, Lance rolled onto the rooftop. But he couldn’t relax.

“Keith?!” he leaned over the edge and shouted. The window he escaped out of was a ways down, further than he realized. But there was no sign of his friend. “Keith! Where are you!?”

As if to answer, something was flung out the window. A Galra solider retched desperately for something to grab onto, but he was too far away from the building. He fell, and Lance watched in horror much longer than he should have.

Another figure appeared and began making its way towards Lance.

“Keith behind you!” Lance shrieked.

Another solider was following Keith, climbing fast. Lance attributed that to the wound on Keith’s side. The Galra reached for him and Keith retaliated by slamming his boot down hard on the other’s face. The soldiers roared, his grip slipping momentarily before he latched on again. Keith scurried up the side of the build, following the same path of ledges and holds that Lance had used not moments ago.

Lance leaned over the side and braced himself, holding his arm out to him. “C’mon… you’re almost there…”

Just as Keith grabbed him, a pained howl ripped from his throat. Lance paled. “K-Keith!”

The other Galra leaped at them, latching his long arms around Keith and digging into his wounded side.

“Get off of him!” Lance yelled. His arm was straining now holding the both of them. Lance used his other hand to brace himself on the edge of the roof and felt one of the tiles give under the pressure. Lance snatched up the loose tile and flung it down at the soldier.

Surprisingly, it hit the Galra square between the eyes. He seemed shocked more than hurt, giving Keith just the right amount of time to throw his free arm back and nailing him in the jaw with his elbow.

The blow must have been hard. Instinctively, the Galra clutched his face and growled. With his hold on weakened, Keith began thrashing around wildly. The Galra cursed and scramble to get a good hold on Keith yet again, but it was too late. One final kick and Keith was free.

Lance ignored the cries from the panicked Galra and began to pull. Keith helped as best as he could. His breathing as ragged and pain flickered across his face far too often.

“Keith...” Lance finally hoisted him up on the roof and immediately his attention was drawn to his side. The slash was bleeding faster, probably torn open even more from the strain. “We’ve g-got to get you help.”

“I can wait.” He grumbled. Keith pulled at a strap on his back, something that wasn’t there before. “Here. Now you can protect yourself.”

Keith handed him a medium sized looking blaster. It was a bit chunkier then what he was used to, definitely heavier, but it had a trigger and that was all Lance needed.

“Thanks. But you didn’t have to do that.”

Keith looked at him, a familiar confused tilt to his head.

“Look, you don’t have to throw yourself in danger. We can figure this stuff out together, you know. And don’t pull that ‘self-sacrificing’ stuff again, okay? Believe it or not, I don’t’ want to lose you. We’re getting out of this together.” After he spoke, Lance stood carefully to get a better bearing of his surroundings. He didn’t put much thought into what he had just said.

“I thought… I thought you wouldn’t care...” Lance wasn’t sure if Keith meant for him to hear what he said. But he did and it sent his anger spiking.

“You thought…? Keith what the quiznak, _of course_ I would care. Just because I yelled at you and got angry doesn’t change things. It doesn’t change the way-“ the sound of glass breaking made him freeze.

Keith grunted and pushed himself up. “We’ve wasted too much time. We have to get to your sister.”

“Right.”

The two hurried across the roof. Luckily for them, Lance was an expert at navigating up here and led them right to Allura’s room. Looking down, he could see that one of the doors was open and Lance got nervous. Carefully, Lance and Keith dropped down to the balcony.

It was dark inside. Eerily dark. Fear gripped at Lance as he desperately looked for a sign of his older sister. He moved to search for her, but Keith reached out and stopped him. He was on high alert, his ears quivering while they strained for any sound. Very slowly, Keith went inside.

The attack was almost immediate. Keith dropped to the ground as a staff came hurling at his head. He fell hard and yelped as the sudden movement agitated his injury. That second hesitation was enough for another attack at the staff came down once again. Keith rolled out of the way and tried to get to his feet, but the attacker didn’t give him a chance.

Lance recognized that weapon immediately and when Allura finally appeared from behind the curtain, he tried to stop her.

“A-Allura!”Another swipe, but this one nicked Keith on the shoulder. She was too focused on fighting. “Allura, stop! He’s not a bad guy!”

Her eyes flickered in his direction, absolute fury burning in them. “Lance? Stay back, I’ll deal with this.”

“You don’t have to- Keith look out!” he cried. Keith was almost to his feet when he was forced to lean back to avoid another swipe. Seconds after the staff flew past his face, Allura aimed a strong kick to his stomach knocking the air from his lungs. Keith fell back, winded. Allura planted her foot on his chest and pressed the edge of her staff to his throat.

Lance raced forward before his sister could do anything else. “Allura stop!” he pulled on her arm, panicked.

“Lance get off! You see what’s happening don’t you?” She practically snarled, her voice laced with so much hatred it was painful. “They fooled us! They betrayed our trust and now are killing our people. You can’t trust them Lance- any of them! Especially _him_.”

She pressed down harder on Keith’s throat, earning a pained whine. But Keith didn’t try to get away, he didn’t even try to move her staff. He just lay there, staring up at Allura with his one good eye and his arms at his side. He was trying to look like less of a threat.

“Think about it Lance. He was probably sent to kill you.”

“I know that!” Lance tugged on her arm again. This seemed to finally grab her attention. Allura spun around, her mouth ajar.

“You what!? You know? Then why are you defending him!?”

“Because he saved my life. And yours.”

“… I can’t believe that.”

“Well I do.” He pushed her aside and she surrendered easily. Lance set his blaster down and knelt next to Keith. He was sitting up slowly, the bruise on his cheek had fully closed around his eye. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” He huffed, forehead creased in concern. Keith leaned in and spoke quieter. “Your sister is brutal.”

Lance snorted. “I know.”

“I heard that.” Allura chided. The two boys looked at each other and Lance had to actively hide his grin. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air while Lance helped Keith get to his feet. All the while, he could feel the waves of Allura’s distrust as she watched the two of them carefully. It didn’t take long for her to say something.

“Why are you helping us?”

Lance grumbled. “Give ‘im a chance to catch his breath, ‘lura…”

“He’s had enough time.” She shot back. “Why are you so keen to help us when the rest of your kind is actively trying to kill us.”

For his part, Keith was doing incredibly well looking into Allura’s fearsome gaze. Lance had already shrunk back to the sidelines, fully aware of how devastating his big sister’s anger could be. He stuck close enough just in case he had to hop in and break up another fight.

“I am not my people or my rulers.” Keith said plainly. “For a long time, I followed orders blindly. Ignoring the pain- the doubt. But I couldn’t do that anymore. I couldn’t lie. Not after…”

For a brief moment, Keith glanced his direction. And Lance felt his heart soar. When they get out of this, him and Keith are going to have a long conversation about all of these… feelings.

“Not after? Not after what?” Allura pressed.

“It doesn’t matter right now. We need to get your father. Coran said that he’d meet us-“

“Father is dead.”

All the warmth in Lance’s body disappeared. An icy chill forced its way into his body and made his limbs go numb. He stared at Allura, at the dip of her shoulders, the glassy look in her eyes and the slight tremble of her hands gripping her staff.

It took a moment for Lance to find his voice. “F-father…? Y-you’re lying. Allure _please_ tell me you’re lying.”

All her anger finally melted away. “I wish I was little brother. But it’s true. I saw it with my own eyes.”

The tears fell quickly after that. Lance crumbled, sobs tearing themselves out of some dark and melancholy place deep in his heart. He felt Allura drop down next to him, her voice in his ear and her arms around him. He could tell that she was crying too. Lance wanted to help, he was desperate to actually. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even find the strength to stand.

A new presence came close to the siblings and Lance immediately reached out for that familiar, comforting warmth.

“Stay away from us.” Allura’s words were another cold shock to his system. He felt the warmth of Keith’s presence fade away until it was completely gone. “I don’t know what you might have said or done to make my brother trust you, but know this: _nothing_ you do will make up for this. I cannot forgive you for the death of my father.”

“’Lura-“ Lance pushed back, stifling a sob as he did so. “Stop it. I-it’s not his fault. Keith’s here to help-“

“Lance.” Both of them turned to the young Galra. Keith was far from the two, far from Lance. He had placed himself outside of their huddle. Outside of their grief and hardship. After his small attempt to comfort Lance was pushed away, he looked resigned to stay on the sidelines for good. And Lance hated the look on his face.

“It’s okay, Lance. I’m not looking for your forgiveness, princess. Just your safety.” Keith stood a little taller and stiffer. A reminder of the solider he actually was.

Allura made a little noise of surprise at that statement. For a moment, there was a glimpse of indecision in her eyes. It made Lance hopeful.

Lance took a few more moments to calm down. Grieving for his father would have to wait until they were all out of danger. Another rumble in the distance only egged them on further.

Keith had told them that Coran would be waiting for them in Alfor’s private hanger. Whatever trepidation Allura was feeling disappeared in an instant Keith told them this. Very, very few people knew of the hanger’s existence. It was for emergencies; a last resort escape when the king and his family were threatened. Lance could count the number of people on his hands who knew the exact location. This was the little bit of proof Allura needed to finally trust Keith.

The three of them hurried down the hall. Despite still not having a weapon, Keith insisted that he go first. Lance hated being in the back, but it was a smart move. He could pick off anyone following them before they even got close.

The castle was surprisingly quiet. Keith mentioned that the majority of the troops would have been dispatched to the city by now and the statement sent a wave of uneasiness through him. He just hoped that Coran was able to warn some of the citizens.

Given that there were still two very alive royals, Lance assumed that sooner or later they would send someone after them. A few moments later, that thought was confirmed.

Keith heard the footsteps first and spun around. He pulled the two of them out of the way and ducked behind large stone pillars lining the hall they were in.

“Oh come on!” Allura moaned. A blaster shot ricochet off the stone pillar, raining dust down on her hair. “We’re almost there.”

“Lance, you need to take them out.” Keith directed his attention to the blaster in his hands. “Those are drones out there. One good shot to the chest and they’ll go down.”

“Drones?” he asked confused.

“Galra tech mixed with druid magic. They’re not as smart as actual Galra, but just as strong. We can’t risk them getting too close.”

The enemy fire was still chipping away at their cover. Lance tightened his grip on his weapon and waited for an opening. There was a brief pause in the fire, and Lance leaned out in to the open. He took aim and fired, momentarily distracted by the kickback of the unfamiliar weapon. The shot went wide, only grazing one of the drones on the arm. He risked a few more shots before ducking back into the cover.

“There’s at least 8 of them.” He grunted.

“More will be on the way.” Allura added grimly. He grip tightened on her weapon, agitation evident on her face.

Lance kept shooting. He’d duck out for a few seconds at a time and aim hurriedly at the metal figures. It was happening so far that he didn’t even know if he hit his target half the time. Lance fired blindly around the pillar, racking his brain. There had to be something better than this.

The ground rumbled. Another explosion somewhere off in the distance. Along with the rumble and sounds of stone crumbling, Lance heard another noise. Something was jingling, a chiming sound amongst all the banging. Lance recognized the sound and looked up to see a large and ornate chandelier lighting the hall. If memory served, there was another one down the hall a bit. Right where those drones were piling up.

Waiting for an opening, Lance flung himself completely out of the safety of the pillar. In the split second it took for Allura and Keith to reach for him, Lance fired two shots. He only needed one.

The blue light blazed through the thick cord holding the chandelier and it dropped faster than anyone could take a breath. The resounding crash that followed was laced with the sputtering mechanical whirl of the drones shutting down. Lance kept his weapon raised and waited to see if any had escaped the din. They did not.

He couldn’t stop the flood of pride that made him smile.

A strong punch to the arm brought him down quickly. “OW! Allura!”

Her hair billowed around her like a fog, only emphasizing the anger in her stature. “Don’t ever do something stupid like that again.”

“What? It worked, didn’t it?”

“But what if it hadn’t? And when did you learn to shoot anyway?”

Keith poked his head near the squabbling siblings. “Um, we should really get moving. There’ll probably be more.”

Allura huffed. “Fine. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Add it to the list.” Lance knew she was only worried, but he still had to fight the urge to call her out on her misplaced anger. It would only slow them down.

The three of them pushed ahead into the throne room. Its vast space feeling empty and strange without the presence of his father. Lance couldn’t remember a time when he came in here and his father wasn’t sitting on his throne. He pushed down a wave of despair and moved faster.

Keith was the first to reach the entrance of the hanger. The door was concealed behind the three seats and could only be opened by a select few. Standing behind their father’s throne, Allura searched with a keen eye for a certain set of markings. She quietly cheered and placed her hand on the spot when she found it.

Suddenly, there was a crash behind them and a section of the wall opened up like a door.

Their relief was short lived as Keith whipped his head around to the entrance. “Move!” he shoved the two forward just as the blaster fire started again.

Lance tore down the small corridor ahead of them, Allura just a ways forward. He could hear Keith behind them; panting and so much more exhausted then the two of them. He turned briefly to see multiple drones wedge in the closing doors, leaving just enough space for more drones to come pouring in after them.

“Keep moving!” Keith chastised, making eye contact briefly. His one good eye was urging him to move, worry clearly evident in its amber glow. Lance pushed his own fears to the back of his mind and used it was fuel to run faster.

The corridor turned abruptly and the siblings were relieved to see their tutor standing by a ready ship. They sped past the airlock and into the hanger, relief filling Lance as he flung himself on his fiery haired tutor.

“Coran!”

Coran caught him easily and hugged Lance tightly. “Lance m’boy… I feared the worse when Keith was caught.”

“I’m alright. He came back for me.”

“And I’m glad he did.” Coran let go and turned his attention to Allura who also dove in for a hug. “It’s good to see you well. Both of you. His Majesty-“

“We know, Coran.” Allura said solemnly. “We know.”

The weight of this settled on the three of them once again and for a moment, there was only silence. Coran place a hand on each of the young royals and took a breath. “We don’t have time to mourn. We’ll do that once were all safe. Come on, then. Hop in!”

Lance nodded, turning. “Okay. Let’s go Keith- Keith?”

The young Galra was nowhere in sight. Lance spun around, his fears already spiking. “Keith?!”

And that’s when he noticed. The airlock door was closed.

Lance didn’t listen to Coran’s shouts, nor did he stop when Allura reached for him. All he thought about was Keith, alone and defenseless on the other side of that door.

_No. No no no no no!_

He could see Keith now, on the other side of that clear door. He was fighting. Moving swiftly in between the weapons aiming for him. Swiping with his sharp claws and striking out with powerful kicks. Lance readied his blaster, running right towards the switch that would open the door. But then Keith did something stupid.

The last drone charged Keith, its arm already a twisted useless piece of metal with wires poking out. He planted his feet and grabbed the machine around its middle. With one great heave, Keith threw the drone into the door controls on his side; effectively locking it.

Lance slammed into the door, frantically pressing the button to open the door in front of him, but to no avail. It was broken.

“No… no no no! Keith- Keith you can’t just… you can’t _do this_!” When hitting the button wasn’t enough, Lance began to slam his hands on the thick plain of glass that was separating the two of them. He wasn’t even sure a blaster could break through. “Keith… y-you can’t. _Please…_ ”

His hands were stinging from the abuse he put them through. But that was nothing, nothing at all to the reality of what was happening in front of him.

“Lance.”

He looked up. Keith was right there, so aggravatingly close and yet, unreachable. Keith leaned close, as close as he could and put his hands on the glass. His voice was thick with exhaustion.

“I’m sorry, but there are more coming. I- if we went all together there’s a chance none of us would make it. I don’t want to take that chance.”

“…Keith. You can’t just- you can’t just make this decision on you own! We can figure out a way, we can… we can…”

“I’ll buy you the time you need to escape.”

“But what about you? Keith, I-I…” There was so much Lance wanted to say. So much he hadn’t had the time to figure out yet. He needed time. He needed Coran’s wise words and Allura’s nurturing heart. He needed his father’s strength and his mother’s bright smile. He also needed Keith. It wasn’t clear what they were, if they were anything, but Lance could say for certain that he needed this Galra to be in his life. And right now, everything seemed to be against them.

Keith leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the glass, wincing as he moved. “Please Lance. _Please_ … you have to get out of here.”

“I know.” He could feel the hot tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked up to meet Keith’s eye. “I… I’m scared.”

“Me too.”

“Just- just be careful, okay? Promise me you’ll be survive all this?”

“I will. I promise.” He didn’t sound convincing.

Lance took a shuttering breath and leaned his forehead against the glass. If he imagined hard enough, he could picture Keith’s warm body pressed against his own. Dark hair ticking his nose and amber eyes crinkling in a rare smile. Instead he only felt the cold glass of the airlock doors and the colder ache in his already frozen heart.

“I’ll come back for you, Keith.” Lance gathered all his courage to say those words. He stood taller and gazed fiercely into the Galra’s face. “You have to stay alive until I come get you, alright? Alright?”

A small smile. “Okay… I’ll wait for you.”

“Good.” Lance looked at their hands. Lined up perfectly on the glass. Purple and tan, Galra and Altean, Keith and Lance. It felt so natural. Like they had lined up like this many times before.

Keith’s ears shot back behind him and soon his head followed. “They’re coming. You have to go Lance. _Now_.” He pulled away and grabbed a discarded sword from the heaps broken drone’s on the ground. But Lance wasn’t ready yet. He would never be ready for this.

“B-be careful, and don’t forget what I said.”

He turned back, that smile still there. “Stay alive and wait for you. I won’t forget.”

Lance nodded afraid that his voice would tremble again.

“ _Go_.” Without another word, Keith turned away.

Lance watched as he leaped over the broken drones. The side his wound was on gave a little bit every time he stepped and his ears were drooped low with worry and fear. Lance watched much longer than he should have as Keith turned the corner and disappeared from sight. He was scared that this was going to be the last time he saw those fluffy ears and amber eyes. He feared what lay around that corner. He was so so scared.

But still, Lance moved. He pushed himself away from that stupid door and wiped the tears off his cheeks. Holding his blaster tight he hurried back to the open ship where Coran and Allura were waiting for him.

Keith was going to stay alive. And Lance was going to rescue him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the drama begins!!! I hope this doesn't feel rushed. I know a lot of stuff goes down here and I just hope it's relatively easy to follow. 
> 
> Also excuse my use of italics and ellipsis. When I plan out conversations I try to emphasize how the characters sound in my head saying things. That being said, sometimes I feel like I go overboard trying to do that and make my dialogue look all complicated and weird. Can't seem to stop though. it's an addiction. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed this whirlwind of a chapter! Thanks for reading, commenting and kudos! There is more angst to come, so be ready lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Allura and Coran make a break for it, while Keith is left in the hands of the Galra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I write while at work. Meaning I am very bored at work and that's why I update like every week.   
> Another Fun Fact: I am horrible at editing myself, so have fun with that. 
> 
> okay back to the story.

The first thing that came across Keith’s mind was the relief at knowing that Lance and the others had gotten away. The second was confusion. Confusion as to why he was alive right now.

His whole body felt like it weighed tons. Every breath was painful and all he could imagine was his chest constricting tighter around his lungs with each gasp. If the slice on his side was worse, he really didn’t know. He was so numb to that side of his body that it felt there wasn’t anything there at all. That thought should have been alarming, but nothing was really able to faze him at the moment.

The only thing he could think about was being dragged across the floor. Two pair of hands gripping his arms while he hung there limply between them. He really should be dead by now. After everything he did; he betrayed Lotor, betrayed the Emperor. The fact that he was alive it just- it just didn’t make sense. Neither of the Galra rulers were known for their mercy. So why would they show it to him? The one who put a wrench in their plans and ensured the safety of two members of the Altean royal family? Why?

Unless they wanted to use him for information. Wring out what little he knew to use against the two now fleeing in the stars. The thought almost made him laugh. Keith had already told Lotor all of their strengths and weakness back when he was a confused little solider. All they were doing now was wasting time.

_Good._ Keith thought. _It’ll give Lance and the others time to recover._

The raised, angry voice of Lotor filtered in and out of his head the more they moved. Keith tried to open his eyes, but something kept dripping down his forehead and stinging his eye. It was aggravating.

Keith wasn’t quite sure where he was being taken. He knew where he was before his body had given out. After he said his goodbyes, Keith had torn down the corridor that lead to the hanger and effectively stopped any drones that were coming after the royals. Once back in the throne room, Keith closed the doors to the hanger and decided to try and distract the fighters in the air from the departing Altean ship. How he was going to do that was a mystery. One that he never got to solve when he ran head long into seven heavily armed soldiers.

He fought well, injuring several of them before he went down and couldn’t get back up again. For a moment, he feared that he failed completely. That Lance and the others wouldn’t be able to escape the planet’s atmosphere. Those fears were completely dropped when he overheard a radio conversation between one of the soldiers and their commander.

“Do you have the traitor?” The voice sounded fuzzy and strange and Keith thought for a moment that that wasn’t because of the quality of the communicator he speaking into. His assumption was confirmed when the Galra next to him spoke and sounded just as strange.

“Yes sir. He has been detained.”

“Good. The Altean royals have managed to escape. Bring the traitor and make sure he’s alive.”

The next thing he remembers is being hoisted up by his arms and the rush of pain as his injuries shifted.

Keith concentrated on the present. He noted the sounds of Lotor shouting, becoming clearer as they walked (as _they_ walked, he was kind of just along for the ride). There was a whoosh as door swung open and the voices became louder. They echoed off the high ceiling and Keith could only guess that he was back in the throne room. Fighting a spell of dizziness, Keith strained to make sense of the argument that was going on.

“If it were any other solider, he would have been shot on sight. So why? Why is he still alive, _father_?” Lotor practically snarled the last word, almost like it was attached to a repulsive taste. Keith could just imagine the sneer on his face. “We had them- _all of them!_ And now over half of the population has survived and the prince and princess escaped with that advisor! All my plans… _ruined._ All because of one insignificant solider.”

As if on cue, the hands that were holding him suddenly disappeared and Keith fell to the ground. It felt like he’d been dropped off the side of a building instead of just barely three feet off the ground. Keith hissed in pain, dragging a hand to cover the gaping hole carved into his side. Now off all times his body decided to wake up and all the scrapes and bruises he was numb to not minutes ago were beginning to make their presence known. And it was excruciating.

Heavy boots stomped in his direction. Keith blinked rapidly, his one good eye still fuzzy. Even so, he could see Lotor’s stringy white hair and light lavender skin coming towards him. The Galra prince knelt down in front of him.

“ _You_.” He hissed. A hand latched onto his hair and yanked him up. Keith’s couldn’t stop the cry of pain that escaped. “Because of you, my plans have failed. As if I weren’t already a laughing stock in the empire, you’ve just made things worse.”

Lotor leaned closer and rested his knee on Keith’s outstretched hand. He leaned his weigh on it slowly, earning a wince. Keith tried to get away. To get out of Lotors’ grip and away from the pressure on his hand that felt like it was breaking, but that only caused the prince to press down harder with his knee.

“If I had things my way, you would be dead already.”

Keith glared at him, an unfamiliar feeling of arrogance surging forward. “T-too bad you’re not in charge. Still h-have to follow daddy’s orders, Bastard Prince.”

Something about seeing Lotor so undone was immensely satisfying. Keith had never dreamed of talking back to a superior. It only would have ended in him being reprimanded and punished. But seeing how things were, Keith didn’t really care what they did to him now.

 In a flash, a blade appeared under Keith’s neck, already tearing at the sensitive skin. “You- you insolent _half-breed_! I will tear you apart-!”

“You will do no such thing, Lotor.” The prince stiffened at the voice of his father. Lotor stared at his prey and actually looked conflicted for a moment. It was like he was trying to decide if it was worth it to end Keith here and face the wrath of his father later. Coming to a decision, Lotor pulled back his knife and stood. He let go and Keith had to actively try and hold his head so it wouldn’t slam into the floor.

Keith managed to look up and was greeting with a sickening sight. They were in the throne room. The beautiful white throne room. Sitting in the center where King Alfor was supposed to be was Zarkon. He was perched on the throne almost hauntingly, conveying a look that said he all but deserved that seat. The other thrones, Lance’s and Allura’s, were smashed to pieces. It was a clear sign. Only one was in charge now. No wonder Lotor was in a mood.

The Galra prince composed himself and folded his hands behind his back. “Forgive me father. I just wish to understand _why_ you are being lenient with this traitor? If you show mercy, then others might begin to disobey and then-“

“And then what?” Zarkon’s voice only seemed to make the room darker as it boomed across the room. “Are you saying that I am weak?”

“N-no, that’s not-“

“Are you suggesting that I am not fit to rule?”

“Never. father-“

“You will listen to me, Lotor. There are many things that your birth has entitled you too. Even so, that does not mean you get to know everything. The traitor will be kept alive and that is all you need know. And if I catch you or any of your subordinates trying to go against my command, I will not hesitate. Do I make myself clear, _son_?”

The word was spoken like an insult. And clearly, Lotor took it was one.

“Yes, _father._ You make yourself very clear.” Abruptly, Lotor spun on his heel and left. He stopped for a brief moment to glare at the crumpled form on the floor and then stomped away.

Keith pushed himself up slowly and watched the prince disappear behind the heavy doors. At least he knew what Lotor wanted with him. Now he was left in a room with the Emperor and no idea what he was going to do to him. Zarkon wanted him alive for some reason. A reason Keith couldn’t fathom.

“Haggar.” Zarkon turned his head to the side where a dark shadow began to bleed through the walls. Moments later, the witch herself stepped through.

“Yes, Lord Zarkon.” Her gravelly voice made the fur on the back of his neck stand up. Keith can’t even think of a time he actually heard her speak.

The Emperor talked as though Keith wasn’t there at all. “It seems a certain chain of events have been set in motion. If we are to find the rest of Voltron, we need to work fast.”

_Voltron?_ Keith frowned, wincing as it pulled at the bruise on his cheek. He remembered the conversation at the dinner table. The fairytale that Lance and his father were talking about. Why was Zarkon talking about a bed time story? Voltron wasn’t real.

“I understand. Does this mean I get the traitor?” she sounded almost excited, her lips curled in a cruel smile.

“Yes. But remember, we can’t afford to break him.”

“Understood, Lord Zarkon. Vrepit sa.”

“Vrepit sa.”

Keith recoiled as Haggar’s focus suddenly turned to him. He didn’t even have time panic before darkness over took him. 

* * *

 

Once they had made it out of the atmosphere, Lance thought that everything would be fine. He didn’t count on the entirety of the Galra fleet to be waiting for them.

“Coran, on you left!” Allura warned.

“I see them, hold on you two!”

Lance barely had time to grab onto something before the ship spun upside down. The maneuver helped them avoid a cannon blast, but only brought them closer to another. He could feel the wall shutter as something grazed the outside of the ship.

“How are we gonna get out of here?!” Lance asked no one in particular.

“We just have to get far enough away from the warships.” Coran answered. “These are short range fighters, they aren’t going to stray too far away from their base.”

“Are you sure?” Allura asked.

“Fairly sure.”

“’Fairly sure’?! That’s not very comforting, Coran!”

“Hold on!” Coran turned the controls harshly as a wave of Garla fighters came straight for them. With amazing expertise Coran dodge the oncoming fighters and their waves of attacks. The two siblings were holding on for dear life while the ship tossed and turned thing way and that, going upside down a few more times.

For as amazing a pilot as he was, even Coran couldn’t keep up with the sheer amount of enemies in the stars. The whole craft shook from a sudden impact. Lights blared from control console as a loud siren began to blare.

“Were we hit??” Lance was looking at the console for an answer.

“Quiznak! There’s a tear in the hull. Princess, take the controls, I need to find something to patch it up. Otherwise will all be goners!”

Allura pushed him aside and grabbed the controls. “Hurry and fix it. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to out run them.”

Coran nodded and hurried to the hatch that led to the small storage hull. Alluras’ hands were shaking against the controls as she maneuvered them in and out of oncoming attacks. Lance stood at her shoulder, completely at a loss for what he should do.

This was a standard Altean ship. Lance was positive he had been on one similar before, and yet he couldn’t remember if these had any weapons. His eyes flitted around the controls, trying to see something that resembled a weapon control. The most aggravation part was that Lance knew Coran had taught the both of them the basics about these kinds of ships. And Lance knew that he was probably not paying attention. The young prince mentally berated himself for that.

Another hard hit sent him stumbling forward into the back of Alluras’ chair. His sister cursed under her breath as another alarm went off.

“There’s no end to this…”

A few moments later, Coran’s head popped out of the hatch. His bright mustache was singed a little and there was soot on his face and collar.

“I need some help down here; one of the engines has been damaged!”

Allura didn’t look away from the fight in front of her. “Lance, go help Coran. I’ll be fine up here.”

“No, you go.” He said begrudgingly. “You’re smarter and better at that sort of stuff then I am.”

“Lance-“

“Allura. I don’t even know where the engine is in this thing. It’s better if you go help Coran. I’ll just end up blowing us up faster.”

Allura chewed on her bottom lip, obviously contemplating the options. She knew just as well as he did how little Lance actually paid attention to things. Finally she nodded. After a few quick maneuvers, Allura slid out of the seat while Lance took her place. As soon as his hands wrapped around the controls, Lance realized it wasn’t his sister who was shaking, it was the entire ship.

Lance gripped the controls firmly, willing the thing to stop shuttering so _quiznaking much_. He concentrated on the fighters in front of him, vast blackness of outer space, and his beautiful home planet in the background. The sight of it sent his head spinning out of control. There was no time to think about it. No time to think about any of it. About who was lost; who was left behind. No. Not now.

Lance slammed on the forward thrusters, almost coming to a complete stop. Two Galra fighters crashed into one another in front of them. The bright explosion forcing him to squint.

At this moment, Lance was running purely on adrenaline and instincts. Like Allura, he only had basic flight training. Even when he’d take a speeder for a spin in the middle of the night, he never went too far. He didn’t even do it often enough to be considered practice. But for some reason, he was holding his own.

Lance expertly flew the ship through the Galra fleet. The occasional bangs and shouts coming from the hatch behind him were motivating his movements as much as the fight going on outside the ship. Just then, a clang resounded and Lance jumped.

 Allura climbed through the hatch, oil streaked across her face.

“We’ve managed to stabilize the engine and Coran patched the hole in the hull. We’re lucky it wasn’t too large.” Her hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing him. “Are you doing okay?”

“Never better.” Lance said confidently. As if to prove it, he narrowly avoided blaster fire. But even the best pilot in the universe couldn’t keep up with the sheer number of the Galra fighters. Lance cursed as another escape attempt was cut off. “Quiznak! Every time I go for an opening they push me back! We’re never going to get out of here.”

Coran appeared behind him, his hand pressing multiple buttons on the controls. “Well we have to think of something quick. One of those warships is creeping up behind us.”

Lance glanced down to the radar and saw a massive dot lumbering closer to them. He grit his teeth and started to become a little reckless. He tried every crazy idea that came to mind. The ship creaked as Lance pushed it to move faster. They rocketed through the vast space, weaving and dodging wildly. Lance aimed for a gap. A single ship stood in their way.

“Lance…?” Allura gripped his arm tighter.

“Coran- this ship had shields right?” He ignored his sister, eyes focused on the one enemy in their way.

“Of course it does.” Coran sputtered. “How else would we have made it this far?”

“Focus all the power to the forward shields.”

“Alright.” Coran moved to the other side and pressed a few buttons. “Wait- what are you going to do?”

Lance smirked. “I’m going to ram them.”

Allura groaned but braced herself all the same. The fluttering blue lights of the particle shield grew brighter in front of the view screen just in time for them to crash into the Galra ship. The whole ship trembled at the impact. The two ships spun away from each other with the smaller enemy ship in much worse shape than them. The shield sputtered out and another loud siren blared telling them that it was done for.

Lance shook his head and ignored the headache that was pooling in the back of his skull. He was pretty sure the impact rattled his brain, but he had to focus because now they had an exit. He slammed on the engines to full speed and raced off into the open expanse of outer space.

_They’re going to make it. They’re going to make. They are-_

An explosion rang in his ear. All the screens around them turned red and the controls shook violently.

“Oh no! The engine blew!” Coran quickly turned away and lifted the hatch. Lance could feel the heat on the back of his neck. “We’re not going to get far!”

“We have to land.” Allura leaned over him and opened up the star map. They both knew that the closest planet to Altea was too far for their burning ship.

Lance stared down at his hands, white knuckling the controls. There had to be more that he could do. Keith was waiting for him down on Altea. He was waiting for Lance to save him. Suddenly his mind flashed to his stupid Galra. He thought of Keith, the last moments they had together. It was so frustrating that he wasn’t here with them now. All Lance wanted was for things to go back to normal. He wanted his father to be lecturing him about some random misadventure he’d gotten into. He wanted to steal sweets for Allura. He wanted to be caught falling asleep while Coran tried to fill his useless brain. And oh, did he want to see Keith smile again. The memory of it was already starting to fade and it hadn’t even been a day.

“Wh-what is _that_?!” Allura’s voice pulled him out of thoughts. Looming in front of them, staggeringly huge and swirling with energy, was a wormhole.

“Is that- is that a wormhole? But who could have made that?”

Lance felt his jaw drop for a moment at the glorious sight. Only the largest Altean ships were capable of warping. And according to the radar, there were only Galra ships lingering behind them. Lance turned the ship and headed straight for it.

“Lance? What are you doing?!” Allura reached for the controls. “We don’t even know if it’s safe!”

“Well we don’t have many options here, Allura.” Lance reasoned. “It’s either take this chance or stay and let the Galra catch up. I’d rather not give them the satisfaction.”

The siblings stared at each other for a moment. A silent conversation passing between them. After several seconds of silence, Allura nodded. “You’re right. Let’s do it.” She let go and they flew into the wormhole.

The ride was a bumpy one. Lance wasn’t sure if that was because of the integrity of the wormhole or because the state of the ship. On second thought, It was probably the ship. They practically spun out of control as they shot through the spiraling path. Lance felt like the controls were slipping from his grasp, and they nearly did for a moment. To pairs of hands grabbed either side of the controls and steadied him.

The wormhole shot them out in front of a planet Lance had never seen before. The momentum carried them in to the atmosphere and soon they were caught in its grasp. Gravity began to pull them towards the blue and green planet, tearing at the weakened parts of the ship.

Coran was dashing about madly, trying to get anything to work so their inevitable crash landing wasn’t too bad. Lance and Allura were left holding on to the controls, trying desperately to keep the ship even as they fell.

The ship was enveloped by clouds, blinding them. Lance panicked. Now they couldn’t see just what kind of planet they were crashing on. Suddenly, the clouds disappeared and a rocky brown landscape came into view. It was a lot closer than expected and Lance yelped.

“We-we’re gonna crash!”

“Only a little!” Coran shouted back. “Now hold on you two! This is going to be a little rough.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the three of them were sent flying. Lance’s back slammed into the ceiling before he came crashing down to the floor with an ‘oomph’. He sat up quickly and saw that the others were in about the same position as him.

Allura groaned. “W-what was that?”

“Parachute.” The advisor said sensibly.

Lance rubbed the back of his aching head and glared. “Coran! A little warning would have been nice!”

“I did say thing were going to be rough.” The older Altean sat up and brushed dust off his shirt.

Allura grumbled, rolling onto her side. “I think we need to have a chat about your idea of ‘rough’…”

Before Coran could say anything else, the ship crashed landed. It wasn’t as hard of an impact that Lance was afraid of. Still, the entire ship rattled as it skidded to a stop on the hard ground. All of them held their breath until the shuttering came to a complete stop. Lance was the first one up, pulling himself to his feet by using the pilot’s chair. Outside the view screen, everything was dark. Lance could faintly see stars glittering in the sky and large craggily rocks jutting out of the otherwise flat landscape.

“Where are we…?” he spoke in nearly a whisper.

Allura was next to him, pulling up whatever information she could on the cracked screen in front of her. If the inside of the ship looked this bad, he couldn’t imagine what the outside looked like.

“It seems that we’ve landed far from home.” Her eyes slowly widened.

“How far?”

“Very. Very far.”

“Well the air is breathable, that’s a good sign.” Coran ducked down into the hatch and disappeared from sight.

Lance went to follow. “How do you know that?”

“Because half the ship is gone.” Coran stated matter-of-factly. When Lance pushed off the last rung of the ladder, he gaped at the large hole that greeted him. The back half of the ship, the part with the engines, was completely gone. The young prince suspected that the bright orange speck in the distance was what was left of their engine; burning into nothing.

“Well… that’s a problem.” Lance grimaced.

“We have another one heading right towards us.” Allura jumped down the hatch. “There are lights heading straight for us. They must have seen us crash.”

“Maybe they’re the friendly type?” Lance couldn’t help the edge of panic in his voice.

“I can’t say either way. We have no information on the type of inhabitants here.”

Lance faltered, panic now fully seizing his chest. “We really _are_ far from home…”

If the Alteans didn’t even have any information about this planet, then that meant that they were galaxies away from home. Away from Keith. But the bigger question raging through his mind then this strange planet was how in the quiznak did they get here in the first place?

Suddenly, two bright white lights practically blinded them. The oncoming lights appeared out of nowhere and were only a few hundred feet away. Lance was petrified. He had no idea what to expect from these beings. No idea whatsoever. What if they decided to eat them? Or force them into slavery? What if they put him behind a glass wall like a relic on display?

More and more crazy thought flooded his mind. So much so, that he didn’t notice the vehicle sliding to a stop in front of them. The bright lights turned away so that the bulk of the thing was facing them. It was kind of crude looking. Big and bulky with round wheels somehow supporting it’s mass. Allura protectively stepped in front of her little brother and Coran did the same for both of them.

A hatch on the side of the contraption slid open, reveling a dimly lit inside. Out tumbled a small figure with big eyes that sat behind thick lenses and brown tuffs of hair that stuck out in odd directions. The first thing that came to mind was that it kind of looked like an Altean. Minus the pointed ears and colored marking, it was a little comforting to see someone who reminded him of his race.

“…holy shit.” The little thing spoke. “You… you guys are-are…”

“Pidge! Were about to have company!” A big hulking figure can from the other side. He was taller than Lance and had a round belly and skin that was just as dark. When he saw the lot of them, he froze. “Wha-what?!”

“I know right!” The little one, Pidge, exclaimed.

The big one stood up taller with his hands at his side, but his whole frame was shaking. “We-we come in p-peace!”

“Hunk, that was so lame.”

“Who are you?” It was Allura who was the first of them to speak. Pidge and Hunk turned to her, the latter looking positively terrified. After a few moments of silence, Allura tried again. “What planet are we on?”

Pidge stepped forward, clearly braver than the other despite her size. “I’m Pidge and this is Hunk. You… you’re on Earth.”

“Earth?” Allura turned to Coran. The older man just shrugged. Behind them, the lights Allura mentioned earlier were getting closer.

Pidge curse and ran around the crashed ship to get a better look. “They’re coming.”

“Who is?” Lance asked, following the little person against Allura’s protests.

“The Garrison. We have to go.”

“What why?”

“The Garrison can’t be trusted.” Pidge spoke with a surprising amount of spite for someone so tiny. They stomped back to the strange vehicle.

Hunk looked a little annoyed. “Piiiiidge, they aren’t that bad.”

“Oh yeah? Then where’s my brother, Hunk? Answer me that.” There was silence after Pidge spoke. Some past hurt in her eyes that Lance could suddenly relate to. And because of that, he decided to trust these two.

Pidge spun back to the little group of Alteans, her hands on her hips. “Look, we can’t explain everything now, but you should come with us. Those Garrison guys are a shady group and who knows what they’ll do to you if they find you.”

Lance looked back at the oncoming lights. They were getting closer. “I think we should go with them.” He said firmly. Allura and Coran looked at one another and then back at the young prince. Coran shrugged, finally relaxing.

“Alright then. Not like these two would pose much of a threat anyway.” He concluded, twisting his mustache. Lance chuckled at the worried expression on Hunk’s face.

Allura still had some reservations. “How do we know you’re telling us the truth about these people? You could be leading us into a trap.”

Lance couldn’t help but snort. “They’re kids Allura. What harm could they do?”

“You’re just a kid yourself, and you’ve landed yourself in plenty of dangerous mischief before. Need I remind you of kitchen incident?”

The prince’s face turned a brilliant shade of red at the memory. Stepping up a little hesitantly, Hunk took a quick breath.

“Look, I don’t really know what to say or _do_ in this situation- I mean you guys are actual aliens and I think that’s just the coolest and scariest thing-“

“Hunk!” Pidge wacked his arm to get him back on track.

“Sorry, but you guys should come with us. The Garrsion… well they tend to cover up things like this and well, Pidge kinda has a good reason not to trust them. I really think that coming with us would be better.” Hunk’s gaze flicker down at the ground for a moment while he unconsciously twiddled his thumbs. However his voice came out clear and confident sounding.

Lance turned to his sister, silently urging her to trust these new people. Allura frowned; clearly running thought the options in her head. Finally she spoke.

“I suppose I can trust another one of your decisions, Lance. So far it seems that your trust has not been misplaced.” She smiled warmly at her little brother.

The three Alteans gathered what they could from their wrecked ship, including ripping out various parts of the interior. Lance had no idea what Coran was going to do with broken parts of their ship, but he wasn’t about to question him. The piled into Hunk’s ‘car’ as he called it, just in time. They sped off with the lights off into the night, their abandoned ship likely to be picked apart by this Garrison thing.

Lance sat in the very back where there was no seat. An uncomfortable place, but it gave him full view of what they were leaving behind. As he watched the lights from the other cars circle the crash. It was in that moment that he realized he was leaving behind his one sure shot off this planet.

This place seemed vastly different from anyplace he had been before. They still relied on wheels for crying out loud. There was a good chance they hadn’t even travelled out of their own solar system before. And now their ship was being ransacked, pilfered, ripped apart beyond repair. He wasn’t even sure Coran could have fixed their ship, but at least having the lump of metal was better than nothing.

Lance had pressed his forehead against the window, his hands clenched into fists in his lap. Allura climbed over the back seat and sat cross-legged in front of him. Very gently, she reached for his hands.

“You’re shaking.” She said quietly. Lance merely nodded and watched their ship get further and further away.

“Lance… are you worried? About _him_?” The way she said him was strange. It wasn’t quite like she was angry or disgusted like he feared at first, but it was laced with confusion. It wasn’t like she didn’t see him cry his eyes out when Keith had locked himself on the other side of that stupid door. She knew there was something, some secret she wasn’t privy to yet. Maybe it was time for that to change.

“I- I am worried. I’m scared ‘lura.” His hands wouldn’t stop trembling. “I promised- I promised Keith that I’d come back for him. That I’d _save_ him. How am I supposed to do that when our ship is gone?”

“You really care for him, don’t you?”

Lance nodded, not trusting the stability of his voice.

“Then we’ll find a way.” She said firmly. “We’ll find a way to save your friend and our planet.”

“But how? Father… we lost him. We’ve lost _everything_.”

“Not everything. Not yet. We’ve a long road ahead of us, little brother. And we have to rely each other get through it all. I can count on you, can’t I?”

“Of course you can.” Lance answered a little too loudly. Only Coran turned to look at them, a fleeting smile hiding beneath his mustache. Allura giggled softly, using one hand to soften the noise even more. With the other, she took to drawing circles in Lance’s palm. It was something she did ever since they were young. It was distracting enough to calm his excitable mind.

“Looks like you’re missing an earring.” Allura stated casually. She reached over and twirled the purple gem in her fingers. “Hm, I haven’t seen this one in a while. Not since before you got your ears pierced.”

Lance stiffened, knowing full well where the other earring was. After the brief sting of embarrassment, sadness pulled him down again. Now was a better time than ever to tell his sister.

“I- uh- didn’t lose the other one. The other day I… I gave it to Keith.”

Allura’s eyes widened. “You gave it to him? This- this is more than just a friendship, isn’t it?”

Granted, Keith didn’t know the tradition carried on by Altean youth, but Lance did. And so did his sister. Giving someone you liked a piece of jewelry was a sign that you wanted to court them. It had to be personal, not something just picked up randomly at the nearest store. Something that had a history attached to it. And earrings were usually the go to choice.

It was more meaningful, in Lance’s opinion anyway. It was two individual pieces that together made a cohesive whole. They were beautiful on their own, but even better when they were together. Really, he had intended to tell Keith all of this when they sitting on his balcony that night, but he literally forgot everything he was going to say when he saw the wonderful look on the Galra’s face. Then his mind then went completely to pieces when Keith laughed for the first time. Lance was definitely going to explain the next day but then… well, other things got in the way.

Lance pulled his hands away from Allura’s grasp and buried his face in his hands. He was a weird mixture of embarrassment and despair that was giving him a pounding head ache. However, Allura wasn’t quite satisfied yet.

“So… when did this all happen?”

“Nothing happened Allura.” He groaned, head still in his hands. “Just- I don’t know… I just really like him. Even after everything he told me. I still want to protect him. To be- to be _with_ _him_.”

It felt so strange saying those words out loud. Lance doesn’t even know if he actively thought those things. Deciding to give Keith an earring was more of an instinctual sort of decision. He just knew that it was the right thing to do. But now sitting in this strange car on an even stranger planet, his feelings were just starting to fully bubble to the surface. And it was painful.

“Allura. What if- what if something bad happens? What if he isn’t okay? We… we left him there. On Altea where everyone probably knows what he did. Lotor already hurt him once, what if it’s worse this time? What if… what if things were different and we got to father on time. Would we still be here? What if-“

“We can’t afford to think about ‘what ifs’, Lance. It’s too dangerous.” She said firmly.

“What do you mean ‘dangerous’?”

“I mean that if we start thinking about what could happen, we could very well lose sight of what’s happening around us in the present.” Allura’s gaze softened as she leaned against the back door. “Although I can’t help but think about father. If only- if only I had been faster. Stronger. If only I had been better.”

Lance maneuvered as best he could in the back of the moving car and wrapped his big sister up in a hug. He felt the tension in her slim frame fade away as her arms slid around him. He felt the dampness from her tears soaking through his shirt.

It was finally beginning to dawn on the two siblings that they were now orphans. Lost on a strange planet with no way to go home. Lance did his best to comfort his sister while she quietly cried but he couldn’t hold it forever. The two young royals wept over the loss of so much, with the ever kind Coran comforting them when he could. 

* * *

 

One of the worse things about his current predicament was the fact that he had no idea what the witch wanted from him. Keith knew he could handle whatever physical torture he was put through. He was trained to do so for over half his life. Pain didn’t scare him or so much as chip the iron clad resolve he had honed over the years. The pain was, unfortunately, something he was used to. However being strapped to a chair and continuously shot at by Haggar’s strange druid magic was new. And so was the fact that she wasn’t asking him any questions.

The witch had said next to nothing when he awoke back on Zarkon’s ship. The dark paneled walls and purple glow of machines was enough to tell him he wasn’t on Altea anymore. The room he was in was one he had been in before. Long ago, he had been assigned to drag out the unconscious form of a spy who the witch had weeded out using her unique brand of interrogation. Keith hadn’t seen what exactly had happened, but he imagined it was something similar to this.

Haggar raised her hands once more, long thin fingers stretched out in his direction. In an instant, dark shocks of energy slammed into his body, make him jerk up against the metal cuffs that bound him to his seat. Every muscle went ridged as the magic tore through his body, sending what felt like an electrical current bouncing across his bones. Haggars’ magic spread to every inch of his body and set his senses into overdrive. But he didn’t scream. He hadn’t screamed for hours.

Keith had bitten his bottom lip bloody holding himself back. That seed of rebellion he felt when he decided to betray the empire had sprouted fast. He wasn’t going to give these creatures anything else if he could help it. So he stayed silent, hoping that it was at the very least annoying to the witch.

Haggar released her hold on him and dropped her arms to the side. Keith felt his body lurch and thrash like he was still under the magic’s control. His tense muscles slowly unwound, flinching every so often as they did so. Once it had all faded, Keith let his head fall forward, his chin bouncing on his chest.

After every one of Haggars’ spells, Keith’s body ached. It was like every injury he had was ripped anew and he felt the pain all over again like it happened moments ago. The slash on his side hurt the most. An involuntary whimper of pain passed his lips as a fresh trickle of blood oozed from his side. At this rate, he would slowly bleed to death.

“It seems you’ve had enough for the day.” Haggars’ unpleasant voice filled the air. “As much as I would like to continue, you’re of no use to the Emperor dead.”

The cuffs on his wrists and ankles retracted back into the chair as Keith was hoisted to his feet. Another gasp of pain made its way out as his legs quickly gave way and he nearly fell to the floor. Two drones held him firm as Haggar lead the way to his cell.

Keith tried to keep track of where he was. He counted the steps they took out of the room until the first turn (left) and then restarted his count down the next hall. Two lefts and then a right, 28 steps and then a door, left and then some stairs and- wait, when did this place get stairs? Keith kept trying to focus but his mind was fading.

He slipped in and out of consciences, his mind filling in the blank spaces with strange things. Dreamlike things, almost like a vision.

Dragged half conscience across the floor, Keith began to see a different floor under him. Dark, rough stones that poked out unevenly beneath his feet. A heavy damp scent that nearly made him gag. The sounds of incessant rain pattering on the roof tops above him. Roof tops? Why was he thinking about roof tops? He hadn’t lived in a proper house since… well since his before mother was still around.

A door in front of him slid open soundlessly. The drones walked in only far enough to chuck him inside. Keith grunted as he landed on his stomach, too tired to actually move to a more comfortable position. Then Haggar stepped into view.

“Enjoy this respite, for when you are healed a bit more, we will resume the process. There is a great power locked inside you. One that will aid Lord Zarkon greatly in the war that is to come. I don’t care how long it takes; I will tear it from you.”

And with that, the doors closed and Keith was left alone.

The cool metal floor felt amazing against his bruised face. He sighed, finally calming after everything that happened. Well, he relaxed as best he could. Everything hurt. His legs felt like they weren’t there, with his arms being no better. Every breath was ragged and strained, the scratchy sound making his ears twitch. If he was hungry or thirsty, he really couldn’t tell with everything else there to distract him.

Whatever Haggars’ magic had done to him left him feeling positively exhausted. Keith drifted in and out of awareness, the sleep has was getting never really fulfilling. Every time he awoke he felt the same. Not refreshed or revitalized in anyway. He tried to move once so that he was lying on his back instead, but after one failed attempt that left him near tears, he decided against it.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the witch really messed him up.

Keith couldn’t tell how much time had passed. No one came to check on him, at least he didn’t think they did. He always woke up in the same spot, staring at the closed door with the cool metal ground pressed against his cheek. One thing that at least proved time was moving forward was his eye. What once was completely closed off by an angry bruise had finally begun to open up again. His vision wasn’t quiet back to normal, but at least he had both eyes back.

Keith fell into his strange dreams, the same rainy day, heavy smell and strange stone walkway. It never was anything other than that. When a feint light shone across his eyes, Keith got excited. Finally his dreams seemed to be moving on from the boring show it’s been repeating.

Something grabbed onto his shoulder, strong but not unforgiving like the hands that had been dragging him everywhere. With extreme care, he was rolled on to his back. Keith felt himself lifted for a moment and then felt himself be set back down, sitting against the cell wall. This might not be a dream after all.

Willing himself awake, Keith eyes fluttered open and focused on the figure in front of him. It took longer than expected to focus. The light from the hall was brighter than anything he’d seen in a long time and it stung his sensitive eyes.

The figure in front of him pushed up his bangs and laid his hand against his forehead. The stranger felt cold. Ice cold. There was a muttered curse followed by the word ‘ _fever’_ whispered quickly. Keith focused on the stranger and watched with a bleary expression as they rolled up his already tattered sleeve. There was a pin prick of pain followed by a soothing wave washing over him.

_Pain killer._ Keith thought absently. This person could have been injecting him with poison and Keith wouldn’t have the strength to stop them. He closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the medicine work its way through his body.

“Drink.” The person said.

Keith’s ears twitched. He knew that voice. “T-Thace?” his voice cracked from being unused for so long.

“Drink.” Thace said again, more persistent this time. Keith looked down and saw a water pack held just in front of him. He grabbed it with numb fingers and drank it greedily. He hadn’t even realized how dry his throat was.

Thace went to work on Keith side, threading it together with a large curved needle. Keith watched curiously as his skin was sewn together, the matted fur around it sticking out in all directions. There was only the slightest sensation of pressure where the needle poked him, curtesy of the pain killer. If he wasn’t watching it happen, he was sure it would have gone completely unnoticed.

“Are you here to make sure I don’t die before they get what they want?” he huffed. Maybe it was a lingering sense of rebellion making him talk, or maybe it was how comfortably numb he felt for the first time in days. But he couldn’t stop the words from falling from his lips.

The commander didn’t look up from his work. “I am here to make sure you don’t die.”

“And…? That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

Keith leaned back again, not quiet believing him. There just had to be ulterior motives here. He always thought highly of Thace, but now he didn’t want to trust anyone in this stupid empire. Not after everything.

“The prince and princess successfully made it past the blockade.”

“What?” Keith sat up, confused.

Thace frowned, dabbing a fresh trail of blood with a clean rag. “When they breached the planet’s surface, they were confronted by a blockade. It was something Zarkon put into place when he noticed many of the citizens fleeing. They broke through the line and made it away safely.”

Keith was staring, his heart pounding. He didn’t even realize that there would be something waiting for Lance once he left the planet’s surface. Worry flooded his mind for a brief moment before the rest of Thace’s statement washed it away. They were safe. Lance was safe.

“W-why are you telling me this?” he asked, suddenly confused. Was the older Galra teasing him with information? Trying to make him feel hopeless knowing that he was alone? What was his angle?

“I thought you’d like to know your efforts weren’t wasted.”

“I-I… uh, that’s good to hear, I guess.” It was very good actually. Keith’s tired mind flashed to his memories of the prince. Of… _his_ prince. If he even had the right to think of Lance that way. Keith still felt like he had to make it up to the prince in some way. If he was ever given the opportunity, he would do whatever it took to make things right after all the wrong he had done. He just really hoped he had a chance to do so.

Thace made him drink another two water packs and eat a few stale protein supplements. Keith couldn’t be sure, but it was probably the only things he could sneak in here along with the sparse medical supplies.

“They will start to feed you, but only once a day. Water twice a day. Ration it. They’re will be times they won’t provide any.” He spoke with the same directness Keith had grown used to over the years.

“Like now?” he asked.

“Like now.”

“How long have I been in here, anyway?”

“Five days.”

Keith was impressed with himself for lasting that long without giving into hunger or thirst pains. Then again, he was kind of distracted by other things. Thace began packing away his few medical supplies and hiding them in various pockets on his uniform. In one swift motion, he tore off Keith’s sleeve and tied it around his now healing side.

“Those stiches will dissolve in a week, until then don’t uncover it. You can’t let anyone know I was here.”

“I won’t… but Thace, why are you here?” Keith grabbed the other Galra’s hand and tried to hold on firmly. He wanted answers.

Thace didn’t move for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Finally he looked up and spoke. “There are a great many things you don’t know yet, Keith. And for now, it’s going to have to stay that way.”

Just as he was about to complain about the answer he got, he realized something. Thace called him ‘Keith’, not ‘Kivach’ like every other Galra did. No one here knew his mother’s nickname for him. The only person he told was Lance and (because the young prince had little to no impulse control) the only people he told were Allura and Coran. How in the world did Thace know?

“How… how do you know that name? Wait, did you know my mother?”

Thace pulled his hand free and stood. Keith wanted to go after him, but his legs still weren’t cooperating all that well.

“You’ll get your answers soon enough. For now, just stay alive.” And with that, Thace disappeared behind the closing cell door.

Keith sat, positively dumbstruck. Thinking back, Thace never seem out of the ordinary. Sure he lingered around his training more than other commanders but Keith just figured that he was being scouted or evaluated or something. Was Thace watching him for a different reason?

With the sedative still calming his aching body, Keith lowered himself to the ground and lay back. A feint jingling sound rang by his ear. Keith reached up and pushed back tuffs of his messy hair. He unclipped the earring and held it between his fingers, studying the color in the dim light.

It was nothing short of a miracle that it didn’t get lost or taken away in the past few days. The night Lance had given it to him felt like a dream compared to the cold hard reality that he was stuck with now. The little glimmering stone was the only tangible reminder that the prince was real. That they were connected even though there was so much separating them. It wasn’t just distance, but conflict and responsibilities and other intangible things that kept them apart.

Keith held onto the beautiful purple stone and thought about the prince; about Lance. His slivery white hair that glowed in the moonlight. His freckles that got darker when he laughed or was embarrassed. The cool, confident sort of air he carried even when it was just the two of them and he had no one to impress.

Then he thought of the look of fear in his eyes. The betrayal. It didn’t last long, but it still stung when the prince realized his bodyguards’ involvement in everything that happened. Keith didn’t know if it was fixable, everything he’d done. But those last few moments with Lance gave him hope for the future. It made him believe that Lance would forgive him for everything that happened.

Keith clipped the earring back on and thanked his lucky star that his unruly hair was there to hide it. The young Galra settled into the first real sleep he had had in days and instead of seeing strange places, he dreamed of Lance coming back to save him, just like he promised.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how we never got an explanation as to why a wormhole appeared for the gang in ep.1? Y'know, before Allura was even awake? Yeah, that's still bugging me. So I'm making up an explanation that I'll delve into soon. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and all of your lovely comments a kudos :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the set up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya. This chapter is setting up what's going to happen in the next one (it's gonna be kind big) That being said it is shorter than the others. I hope that's okay, but I wanted to kind of leave all the big stuff for the next chapter. okay, that's all. enjoy!

“This planet smells weird.”

“ _Lance_.”

“I’m just saying.”

“I see your etiquette training has gone completely by the wayside.”

“We’re in a shack in the middle of nowhere on a planet that’s barely scratched the surface of intergalactic travel. I don’t think anyone will care much about my manners.”

Allura glared at him from across the small wooden table. He had a point.

It had been 6 whole days since they crashed on planet earth. 6 days of hiding out in a random old house in the middle of a desert while their new friends, Pidge and Hunk, secretly searched the Garrison for information about their ship.

Much to Lance’s surprise, both of them were actually students of this weird organization. With the way Pidge spoke of it when they first met, he would have never guessed that she would willingly work with those people. But this place was full of surprises. This arid, hot landscape being one of them.

Lance had long ago removed the layers of his royal garb and settled for a thin blue shirt he found in this strange little dwelling. He even took off his circlet and tucked it away with his clothes. The crowns weight felt heavier even though the few people he had left to rule were hiding amongst the stars. They’re absence, along with his fathers, left him feeling kind of hollow. The young prince tried his best not to let it drag him down.

Deserts were a new concept to Lance. Sure he knew planets had desert and whatnot, but having never been to one himself he felt terribly unprepared. The young prince never knew a place could be so unforgivingly hot. Altea had meadows and lakes and nothing like this. Soon his skin was going to be just as dry and cracked as the ground outside.

Their little shelter belonged to Pidge who’d found the place right before they enrolled at the Garrison. It was her base of operations so to speak. There were all sorts of picture, handwritten notes and grey typed papers hanging on a long wall. Both Lance and Allura had studied the mess of research while left alone and it filled both siblings with remorse.

It seemed as though Pidge’s brother and father were members of the Garrison and went on a mission to a far planet in their solar system. Neither of them came back.

With the three Altean’s arrival, this seemed to spur Pidge. She now had even more hope of finding her family after it was proven that other life does exist in the universe. Which is why she insisted on finding the remains of their ship that was hidden somewhere on the Garrison base.

Lance pushed himself up from his seat and went to the window. The landscape was pretty bleak but it did hold a weird sense of beauty as well. Brown was just not his favorite color.

“I wonder what these are called?” Allura opened a package of food that Hunk had provided. The two had been spending a majority of the day trying out different things with varying degrees of success.

Allura plucked a bright green berry looking thing off of the bundle and popped it in her mouth. Her lips puckered.

“No good?” Lance asked.

“Bit more sour than I expected. But not a bad taste. It’s going in the good pile.” She pushed the bag aside the other food they liked and reached for something new. Lance on the other hand, groaned and flopped down on the couch.

“Ugggghhhhh…..”

“Are you alright over there, little brother?”

“Yeah… I just feel a little- well…”

“Useless?”

“Exactly.” Lance draped his arm over his eyes, blocking out the sunlight that poured in from the window. His head turned ever so slightly to the sound of Allura’s chair dragging across the wood floor, her light footsteps coming nearer until she sat down on the edge of the couch. Allura ran her fingers through her brothers’ hair.

“It’s frustrating isn’t it? Sitting here while everyone is doing something important.” She sighed.

“So frustrating.”

“Perhaps we can go try and help Coran again?”

Lance snorted. “I doubt it. You know how he gets when he’s working.”

Coran had been working tirelessly for the past few days trying to figure out where that wormhole came from. With the various parts they had ripped out of the ship, he managed to make a sort of computer to help him solve this question. That being said, Coran had a tendency to get lost in his work and can go for hours without talking trying to wrap his big brain around a problem.

When Lance had first tried to help, it took Coran three hours before he gave the prince instructions of what to do. And then he got distracted half way through and never finished his instructions. It’s a wonder how he made such a good tutor to the both of them.

Allura kept running her fingers through her younger brother’s hair while he groaned and whined. “I do hope the others have found something. It’s getting a harder to simply sit here and wait.”

At that moment, there was the bang of a car door closing. Lance sat up and hurried to the door. He swung it open and was greeted with the sight of the two humans.

“Hey!” he greeted. “You guys are back early today. Good news?” he asked hopefully.

Pidge looked like she was going to fall over from the overstuffed bag on her back. Hunk slid it off her shoulders and slung it over his wide shoulder. They both looked a little hesitant.

“Well, it’s not bad news…” Hunk started.

“But it’s not exactly good news either.” Pidge finished.

Lance ushered them inside so that they could hear the news. Allura had ducked into the back room to pull Coran out of his work. Once they were all together, Pidge began to explain.

“So, we found your ship.” She pulled out her laptop from the bag and started it up.

“That’s good right?” Lance was trying not to get his hopes up too much but failing miserably.

“Well… kinda. See we know where it is, but there’s absolutely no way to get to it.”

Hunk wandered over from the kitchen where he’d been making a list of all the food still in the cupboard. He flipped his notebook open to a page that had a map drawn with hasty scribbles. He pointed to a red mark near the center.

“The wreck is locked in deep security. These walls here,” he pointed to thick black lines around the mark, “they’re reinforced with steel and thicker than then this house. Oh and also it’s underground. Like miles underground.”

“…quiznak.”

Coran leaned back in his chair. “Well that explains why it didn’t show up on my scanner when I finally got that thing fixed. Thought I was losing my touch.”

“It definitely wasn’t you.” Pidge piped up. She flipped her laptop around so that everyone could see. It was a much more detailed 3D map of the Garrison. With on tap on the keyboard the map moved and showed just how deep underground this security room was. Lance banged his head on the table.

Allura watched with interest. “How did you two even figure this out?”

At that Pidge put on a devilish smirk. “Hunk rewired the vending machines in the cafeteria to shoot burritos and energy drinks like crazy. While that was going on I broke into Iverson’s office and downloaded his secure files.”

Lance looked at the two of them with a sense of awe. “That… is so… quiznaking cool…”

“I know right? Hunk was scared at first, but I think he secretly likes the thrill of breaking the rules.”

The big guy grumbled, turning back to his grocery list. Lance couldn’t help but laugh. He was incredibly glad to have found these two. Hunk and Pidge seemed like good people and Lance was a little sad thinking that as soon as they found a way, they’d be leaving the two of them behind.

Without thinking, Lance began to twirl the purple gem hanging from his earlobe. There was someone waiting for him, and even if it meant leaving his new friends, he had to find a way back to him.

Lance sat and stared at the table while he toyed with the earring. The pattern of the wood grain was lost on him as he thought about Keith. Most of the time, he did a pretty good job of not worrying. Of not thinking about what could be happening back on Altea where he’d last seen his bodyguard. He tried not to imagine how much worse things probably were for him. Lotors’ anger had already hurt Keith badly, and Lance couldn’t imagine what Emperor Zarkon would do. His hand was clenched into a fist on the table while the rest of the conversation carried on without him. Lance tried to focus, he really did, but all the sudden he was sinking fast into a well of panic.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Lance pushed himself up from his seat and excused himself. He went to the door in a few long strides and headed outside.

Lance had explored a little bit of this place, but not enough to be too familiar with it. Lance walked around the house, too afraid to actually venture out far. What he wouldn’t give for a nice long walk in the place gardens.

All those beautiful flowers that grew in the gardens. Keith would be there of course. The Galra would probably be a few steps behind getting used to all the different smells. The first time Lance lead him into the flower garden, the poor Galra sneezed like crazy. Lance had doubled over laughing while Keith took a few moments to recover, his ears pushed back against his head and wiping his nose furiously. Apparently all the different smells hit him like blaster to the face. After that, Keith was a little weary of the flowers, but so long as he took them in slowly and not strayed too close, he was free from any sneezing spells. Which was unfortunate to Lance because he just loved it when the steely faced Galra lost his composure.

The sweet little memory was one of dozens he had collect, but there were only so many. Lance had replayed them all, and with each time he would forget a little bit more. Like the exact color of Keith’s eyes, the subtle way his ears would move when he was thinking, the sound of his laugh. All his stress was just making the few memories he had fade faster.

Lance leaned against the back of the house and slowly sat. Hopelessness was settling in again with the new news of their ship. It was so far out of reach and just when his mood was staring to improve.

“… back to square one.” Lance thought aloud.

Faintly, he could hear the front door opening and closing. Lance groaned, fully expecting his big sister to come checking up on him once again. She had begun to hover the past few days and while it was completely understandable, Lance really just wanted a little alone time. He felt a little guilty thinking that way after they had been through so much, but he needed time to himself too. Time to recover.

Surprisingly it wasn’t Allura who turned the corner. It was Hunk.

“Hey buddy.” He greeted with a little wave. Whatever fear he had the night they met was completely gone at this point. Hunk was a very nice person albeit a little paranoid.

“Hi.” Lance put on a practiced smile, one he used in court sometimes. It was perfect to hide his anxiety.

“I came out to see what you wanted for dinner.”

“Anything really. I’m not picky.”

“Alright.” Hunk turned to leave, but then stopped. “Hey are you… are you alright?”

Lance felt his expression falter. “Umm what do you mean?”

Hunk began twiddling his thumbs again. “Well you kinda zoned out in there then you took off without saying much. I don’t know, I guess I got a little worried.”

“Worried?”

“Yeah… Pidge says I worry a little too much, but I don’t think of that as much of a problem. And if I didn’t, she would probably starve.”

Lance chuckled which made Hunk smile more. The big guy stepped closer, sitting down next to the young prince.

“So… are you okay?” Hunk asked.

Lance sighed, thinking. His new friend waited patiently for him to talk and it seemed like he would wait forever if he needed too. Such a kind soul.

“I’m…” Lance tried to think of the right words. “I’m okay. Kind of.”

“Kind of?”

He nodded. “It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s my friend.”

“Your friend? The one who helped you guys escape?”

They had told both Pidge and Hunk of what happened to their planet. The Galra and their betrayal along with their escape from the clutches of their enemies. Lance told them about Keith, but only the barest of details. He didn’t mention their connection, how much he cared about the Galra or anything like that. Only that he went against his orders and saved them, staying on the planet to make sure they got away safely. Only Allura really knew how much he cared for him.

“Yeah, that one.” Lance leaned his head back on the house, looking up at the darkening sky. The sun was beginning to set. The sky was fading to pink and soon it would be purple.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Hunk reassured. “He’s probably just waiting for you to come back, like you said you would.”

“I don’t know Hunk. Things weren’t looking so good when we left. Keith… Keith was really hurt.”

“C’mon, buddy. You got to stay positive. We’ll figure out a way to get you guys back.”

“You will?”

“Of course we will. You’re our friends.”

Lance smiled genuinely at that. Hunk really was one of the nicest people he’d ever met, and a fast friend. After he rescued Keith and his planet, Lance made a metal note to come and visit Hunk once everything settled.

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Anytime.”

Hunk and Lance sat for a few moments in silence until the former asked. “Did you say his name was Keith?”

“Yep. Why?”

“Well, that’s not really a name I thought a purple alien guy would have. Then again, Lance isn’t really an alien name either.”

The prince grumbled. “It’s a _family name_.”

(That was his excuse at least. Apparently his mother was particularly fond of a certain type of weapon and by using said weapon to beat his father in a duel, she got to name him. That weapon was a lance.)

Hunk leaned back against the house and kept rambling. “Keith is actually kind of a common name here. To know an alien who happens to know another alien with such a human name, it’s actually kind of funny.”

“A human name…?” Lance thought back, thought about Keith. He was kind of different. Shorter, shoulders not as broad. His fur was lighter in color and not as heavy looking, dark colored hair and claws that weren’t quite so obvious. And then there was what Rychk said. Lance had pretty much forced that memory out of his head, but one part drifted back. Something Rychk said.

He called Keith a ‘half-breed’.

_No… Keith couldn’t be… there was no way…._ Lance struggled with the possibly that Keith could be part human. After all, he did say that he never knew his father.

“It- it’s probably just a coincidence.” He stuttered. “Besides, he said it was a nickname.”

“Hmm… “ Hunk sat for a moment, lost in thought. Finally he shrugged. “Yeah it’s probably just a coincidence. Weird though, right?”

“Yeah… really weird.” Lance pushed away any theories he might have had. There would be time for all that later.

With the sunset happening behind them at the front of the house, Hunk and Lance sat in silence and watched the sky grow darker. The desert stretched for a while longer and then melted into a mountain range. The peaks rose and fell in an inconsistent pattern. For some reason, a particular part of the mountains stuck out to him. Lance frowned and stared at the craggily peaks. He’d look away to the sky or the ground or _anywhere_ , but his gaze kept refocusing on those same set of mountains.

Just as he was about to ask Hunk about that particular range, a window near them opened up and Pidge poked her head out.

“There you two are! Hunk, I thought you were going to make dinner?”

“You know, you could cook every once in a while. I know you can. I’ve talked to your mom.”

Pidge pushed up her glasses, her lips pursed. “You and I both know you love to cook and would be offended if I so much as put a spoon out of place in the kitchen.”

“I like things organized.”

Lance watched with an amused smile on his face as the two old friends bickered. It was such a nice warm distraction from the fear that was creeping up on him a little while ago. But even then, with his new friends talking so loudly right near him, his gaze still wandered. Back to the mountain range and that one particular set of foothills.

Without much rhyme or reason, Lance wanted to explore that part of the desert. It felt a little ridiculous, but something in his mind; some deep seeded feeling or voice wanted him to go there. Wanted him to discover what was hidden in the depths of those rocky caverns.

 

* * *

 

Today was different. Keith had been taken back to the interrogation room but at least this time he wasn’t dragged there. When the door to his cell swung open, two drones immediately went for his hands. He was bound, his hands hanging uselessly in front of him while the drones pointed their weapons at him while they walked. They really weren’t taking any risks with him and Keith still didn’t know why.

Haggar was already there, looming in the corner. She watched with a sick sort of smirk on her face as he was forced down into the chair. The metal clamps wrapped around his wrists and ankles, pressing against the bruises that were still sore from the first go around. However long ago that was.

The witch wasted no time in getting started as her terrible magic shot out at him the moment the drones were out of the way. Unrepaired, Keith cried in pain and quickly tried to clamp his mouth shut. Somehow, it felt worse than before and Keith couldn’t help but scream.

He lost count of how many times Haggar did this. Flash, pain, release; over and over again until he was sure it wasn’t going to stop. He was fairly positive after the first few shocks that his side had torn open again due to all his thrashing. So much for all the work Thace did to help him heal. And then suddenly, it stopped. Keith waited for the pattern to continue, for another wave of searing pain to rip through his already ragged body, but it never came. He lifted his head from where it rested and peaked at the witch.

Haggar looked almost smug, her smirk just visible under the shadow her hood cast down on her thin face. Keith cursed himself for being unable to contain himself this time. It was pretty obvious she enjoyed hearing his cries.

Without saying a word, Haggar opened the door and left, the two drones following her. The door slid shut behind them, leaving Keith alone, in pain and strapped uncomfortably to a metal chair. This was just perfect.

The young Galra let his head fall back down, his chin resting on his chest as he took few slow breathes to work through the pain. He cracked an eye open and noticed that there was a thin line of dark red on the cloth wrapped around his side. He grimaced, realizing that his side had indeed opened up again. Thankfully it didn’t feel like it had completely torn open. The stiches had probably just pulled a bit, and they were just starting to dissolve too.

Despite not being the least bit comfortable, Keith began to doze off to sleep in the chair. He tried to stay awake, just in case Haggar came back to resume this ‘session’. Waking up to druid magic was not something he wanted to experience any time soon. Unfortunately, the exhaustion that settled in after a round of magic was claiming his cognizance and soon he was drifting off into that strange sleep once again.

His mind took him back down to that bizarre dream. The stone ground, thick smell, pattering rain. It was all there once again, but this time there was something else. Something new.

A dark hole in a stone wall, metal rusted bars covering it and water from the rain trickling inside. Keith felt his ears move as they picked up on the different sounds. The water pouring to the hole fell far; the splash sounding like it was a ways below the city his dream self-stood in. Keith wanted to go closer. He wanted to know what was down there. It felt like something was pulled him in. Like there was a force that latched onto his arm dragging him closer. That or there was a something behind him pushing.

Pulled out of the dream once again, Keith forced himself to wake up. He shook his head and pulled at his wrists. The sting of the bruises bringing his mind back to full focus. The short nap left him feel groggy once again and Keith wondered if this was another, more subtle form of torture. Haggar’s magic made it impossible for him to get a good rest and if it weren’t for the sedative Thace had given him however many days before, he probably wouldn’t have slept at all. He was annoyed to realize that it was working. And this was only the second time he’d sat in this chair.

_Come soon…_ Keith thought absently, Lance’s promise still playing in the back of his head.

It was in those few moments, where Keith stretched his neck that he realized he wasn’t alone. He could hear the soft breaths of another Galra, feel eyes on him as he stirred and suddenly he felt horribly cornered. Opening his eyes, Keith was met with the terrible visage of the Galra prince.

“Finally awake, I see. Pity. I half hoped you died.” Lotor leaned against the wall, his expression blank but eyes were practically seething with a strange emotion. Keith could only compare it to hunger.

“Sorry to disappoint.” Keith croaked. His throat was raw from earlier, but he tried to sound strong despite that.

Lotor pushed himself off from the wall and held his arms behind his back. He paced in front of Keith, his yellow eyes never leaving his prey. His lips had formed a frown as he slowly walked soon followed by his brow creasing.

“I heard your little performance.” Lotor kept pacing, his expression not changing as he spoke. “Quiet the voice you have. Sounds better when you’re screaming though.”

Keith growled. “What do you want, Lotor.”

“Show some respect, traitor. I am still your prince.”

“I’m not ruled by anyone anymore. Especially not _you_.”

Lotor came to a gradual stop in front of Keith, his eyes narrowing. “Now why do I think that that’s not entirely true?”

The young Galra frowned, surprised at that statement. Lotor lowered himself down on one knee so that he was eye level with Keith.

“Something does still rule you… yes, but what?” and then the most sinister grin consumed the prince’s face. His eyes lit up like and excited child. “Oh… oh this it too much… I can’t believe it’s that simple…”

“What are you talking about?” Keith snapped. He couldn’t deny the chill running up and down his spine. In the back of his head, he knew that Zarkons’ threat still loomed over Lotor, but in this moment he felt like his life was truly in danger from the mad prince.

Lotor threw his head back in a chilling laugh. “I’m talking about _you_ , little half breed. You think you’re so strong and defiant, ready to lead a life free from any controlling power. But you’ve already thrown that freedom aside. Given yourself over to the most unforgiving monarch of all.”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Yes you do.” Lotor leaned forward. “It’s that Altean prince isn’t it? The one you fought so hard to keep safe. Funny you should fall for someone so weak.”

Keith flinched. How did Lotor know? No… it was a trick. It had to be a trick. Lotor was just trying to ruffle his fur. It wasn’t going to work. Keith gulped down his panic and set his features into a hard line.

“You’re not as smart as you think, Lotor. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” His voice was steady, void of any sort of inflections. The Galra prince stood, a smirk still stretched across that unpleasant face.

“I am much smarter than you can imagine, and I know that I am right.” Lotor began to pace again, looking far more relaxed than before. “If I may explain, since you are still too dull or stubborn to understand, you’ve lost that little bit of freedom you had the moment you decided to care for that silly Altean. You promised to protect him, right? Give your life for him, your honor… everything. For matters of the heart have far heavier chains any other and you’re wrapped up in them so tightly… it’s going to be _so easy_ now to make you suffer.”

Any composure Keith had was long gone. Lotors’ voice, his haunting eyes, everything about him was just terrifying. And the worst thing was that he knew about Lance. He knew how Keith felt about Lance. The Galra Empire was no doubt searching for the runaway royals. There was no way they’d let either of them live and possibly become a threat. But now…?

Now Lotor knew of his and Lance’s connection. The sadistic prince absolutely loathed Keith. What if Lotor took out that hatred on Lance?

“Don’t-“ Keith clenched his hands into fists, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. “Don’t you _dare_ touch him. Don’t even _think_ about him!”

“Or what?” Lotor grinned. “You’ll attack? Claw my eyes out? Tear out my throat?”

“I’ll do worse than that!”

“But how? When Haggar has you in her care? Face it Kivach, there’s nothing you can do to protect your little prince anymore.”

“That’s not my name.”

Lotor paused, raising one thin brow in confusion. “Already forgetting the basics, are we? You are quiet weak when it comes down to it.”

The young Galra steadied himself, pushing back his anger for just a moment to meet the evil prince’s eye. “My name’s not ‘Kivach’, not anymore. Lance was right; it never did really suit me. My name is Keith. That’s who I am. Not some obedient solider or weak prisoner you get to toy with. I am Keith, and I’m the one who made you look like a complete fool.”

The room went deathly silent. Keith didn’t look away from the dim yellow glow of Lotors’ eyes. He knew what talking back like this meant. Hell, Lotor might even him kill him simply because he insulted him again. But Keith didn’t care. He didn’t want to be used against Lance, or Lance to be used against him. If this was where his story was to end, then at least he got one last jab in at the expense of the bastard prince.

For a moment, the Galra prince seemed to be frozen in place, staring down at the figure strapped to the chair. Absolute fury burst into his eyes and in a mere second, Lotor lunged for his prey.

Keith shrieked as his hair was roughly yanked forward. Lotor slammed his head into the back of the chair while his knee came up and collided with Keith’s healing side. If Haggar’s magic hadn’t already torn it open, this certainly would have done the trick.

The pain was practically blinding, both from his ringing head and from Lotor’s knee pressing harder and harder on to his side. He wriggled and writhed, trying desperately to ease the pain in some way. But it was pointless. He was trapped and alone; rescue so far away it might never come.

Lotor leaned forward, his hand still fisting a chunk of Keith’s hair. He yanked on it hard, pulling Keith up and stretching his neck uncomfortably. Keith couldn’t help the whines of pain that pushed themselves through cracks in his resolve.

“ _You…_ ” Lotor hissed. “You are the most… infuriating _creature_ I’ve even had the displeasure to meet.” He leaned forward, the pressure on Keiths’ side increasing and making him gasp. “I would so love to end you here and now… before you even got the chance to see your precious prince… but where’s the fun in that?”

As suddenly as it happened, Lotor let him go. Keith’s head fell forward, the ringing sound echoing throughout his skull making his head hurt even more. His eye’s fell to the covered wound on his side. It was drenched in dark red yet again. The sight made his head spin.

“Now, I actually did come here with a purpose. Though my original plan was nothing compared to now.” Lotor was in front of him again, holding something in his hand. It was a dark metal ring, large and sleek looking. Keith’s stomach turned.

The ring opened with a strange clang that made him flinch. Keith tried to back away, unsure of what this strange devise was supposed to do. Lotor grabbed onto his hair once again and held him still while he clipped the ring in place around his neck.

“What a-are you _doing_?” Keith yelped. The ring was just a little too tight, causing an uncomfortable pressure on his windpipe.

“Had a little something made for you. Something that I was just going to torment you with at my leisure, but now that I know your soft spot for the Altean prince, I can make things even better. I can picture it now…” Lotor released his hold on Keith and strode away with a gleeful look in his eye.

“W-what does this thing do?”

“All in good time. For now, let’s just keep it our secret.” Lotor leaned in close and tugged the collar of Keith’s ruined uniform over the device. It was just high enough to cover it.

Keith wriggled in his seat at the touch. “What is _this_? Tell me or I’ll-“

“Or nothing. You are powerless here. Even more so now that I know your weakness. Good luck, _Keith_. I hope Haggar doesn’t ruin you before I get to have my fun. Perhaps my father was right to keep you alive. This sort of revenge is much more satisfying than simply killing you.”

With that, Lotor left. Keith pulled against his binds, shouting despite his sore throat. “Get back here you- you _coward_! Tell me what this is! Tell me- tell me what going _on?!_ ”

He coughed; the jerky movement making his head ache again. Keith kept yelling, kept begging for answers and not just from Lotor, from all of them.

What did they want from him? What was the point of all this? Haggar said they he had a power inside of him. Something great enough that Zarkon coveted it. But what? What made him special? What made him worth keeping around, forcing strange dreams into his head and treating him no better than a caged animal.

For the first time in a long time, Keith felt like he was going to cry. Tear’s stung the corners on his eyes and it felt like it burning him. All he wanted was answers and the only thing he got we’re more questions. More fears piling themselves one top of one another, cluttering his tired mind.

Everything that just happened with Lotor also filled him with an incredible sense of dread. He knew about Lance. He knew how he felt about Lance. All the sudden, Keith was wishing with everything in his being that Lance would stay away. Stay far away from this stupid planet, from this wicked prince. Stay away… stay _safe_.

Keith tugged on his restraints, the ring hidden beneath his shirt collar feeling like an anchor, holding him down more than the clamps on his limbs. And the worst part was, Lotor didn’t even tell him what it did. The evil prince always had an angle, a plan. Whatever this one was, Keith knew it wasn’t going to be good.

A few minutes later, the door slide open again. Haggar and the two drones entered, ready to drive into another session.

 

* * *

 

On the floor of the shack, wrapped up in blankets right next to the couch, Lance dreamt about home. The tall shimming buildings, the aqueducts that ran everywhere, the golden trees, the two moons glistening in the sky. Oh did he miss it. Lance curled up on the ground, enjoying the little venture into his dreamscape.

A loud bang disrupted those happy thoughts. Lance shot up, followed shortly by Allura who was sleeping on the couch next to him.

“Wh-wha what’s going on?!” He rubbed his eyes, looking around for whatever the sound was.

“I’ve got it!” Coran’s voice was booming in the small space. The former tutor had burst from the back room of shack, his orange hair and mustache terribly askew with a large tablet under his arm. He was absolutely covered in wires and a few bits of electronics seemed to be trailing off of the wires and hanging around him like colorful bobbles.

Lance fell back into his blanket nest while Allura gathered up her hair. The eldest sibling turned to address the crazy man. “Coran, what are you talking about this early? The sun hasn’t even come up.”

“Forget about that, I’ve managed to track the signal!”

“Signal? What signal?”

Coran wiggled out of the various wires and hopped over to the prince and princess. He wiggled into the space between them (much to Lance’s dismay) and turned on the tablet. “Right, so you know that I’ve been trying to find the source of that wormhole that led us here?”

“Yes.” Allura yawned.

“While I was doing that, I discovered a strange signal coming from somewhere in the mountains.”

This made Lance perk up. More than once, he’d caught himself staring at the range that rest behind their little haven. His curiosity was just begging him to explore, but his common sense (which sound strangely like his big sister) told him to stay put. However now it sounds like they would have to venture out there.

Coran continued to explain. “It took me a while, but I was finally able pin point the signal.” A wide image of the mountain range appeared on the screen. Coran zoomed in, highlighting the area where the signal was coming from. It was the same set of foothills that Lance had been staring at.

“So, when are we going to investigate?” Lance asked excitedly. “Now?”

“I thought we’d wait for the others, seeing as I have no idea how to get there without Hunks’ car.”

“Ugh… I guess you’re right.”

Allura had remained relatively quiet this whole time. She was threading her fingers through her hair, getting rid of the large tangles. “I wonder… I wonder what could be out there.” She said quietly. “It doesn’t make sense that that kind of advance technology would just be sitting out here on Earth. Especially so close to that Garrison organization.”

Lance and Coran shared a look. They princess did have a point.

“Maybe their scanners can pick it up?” Lance offered. “Our tech is pretty different from anything I’ve seen here.”

“Maybe…” Allura still seemed a little unsure. Her brother on the other hand was already thinking way past that problem. Instead he settled back down and hoped to sleep the day away until Hunk and Pidge came back. Then he could finally figure out why he had become so obsessed with some random rocks.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hope for Lotor is that he's equal parts evil genius and whiny baby who throws temper tantrums. Guess we won't know till season three. 
> 
> Anyways I hope this was okay even though it was kind of short. I have big stuff planned for the next chapter. hope y'all are ready. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and co head into the mountains to see what this mysterious signal is. Keith proves himself strong enough to withstand anything his captures throw at him. Or so he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like, 50% talking and 50% angst. So yeah... sorry about that (not really. I'm evil. muahahahaha *dissolves into crying*)
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this ride.

The van rumbled up and down the rocky desert ground. Coran sat in the front with a strange mess of machinery on his lap. Lance recognized most if it from their ship, with a few added bits and pieces that Pidge had brought him. She was quiet the tech genius when it came down to it. With both her and Hunk helping, Coran could absolutely rebuild their ship. If they ever managed to get it back that is.

Lance has squeezed himself in the middle seat between Allura and Pidge, eager to see everything ahead.

“How long is it gonna take to get there?” he asked, leaning forward between the two front seats.

Hunk kept his eyes forward. “Don’t know. Kinda helps if we know where were going…”

“I know approximately where were going.” Coran assured.

“So approximately how long am I going to be squished between these too?” Lance nagged. Both girls grumbled at his complaints.

“I have no idea. Probably a good few vargas.”

Next to him, Pidge cocked her head out of curiosity. “Varga? Is that like an hour?”

“What’s an hour?”

The next however amount of time was spent discussing the various differences between Altean time and human time.

The mountain’s came up fairly quickly, the ground they were traveling on steadily inclined as they reached the base of the range. Hunk drove as far as he dared. Not wanting to get his van stuck on some large rock or something. They piled out and Lance immediately shielded his eyes from the bright sun. Now that he’d gotten used to it, the heat wasn’t too unbearable. Actually the warmth felt kind of nice against his exposed skin. His sister on the other hand still didn’t like it too much.

Allura quickly pulled up her hair in a tight bun and trudge after their tutor. “Alright, where too now?”

Coran was wrapped in wires once again and holding onto a large screen in one hand and a makeshift antenna in the other. “Well according to my ingenious little device, looks like will be heading north.”

Pidge snorted. “So aliens have different names for time, but not for directions?”

Neither the royals or Coran had an explanation for that. The five of them began to trek the low hills of the mountain. Coran was practically glued to the screen while Hunk gently steered him away from any particularly sharp rocks or other semi- dangerous things.

The incline was getting steeper, and Lance was sweating buckets. His focus was jumping back and forth between the mountains he’d been mildly obsessed with and the uneven ground. It was a pretty strange coincidence that the signal was leading them straight here. Then again, it was strange for the young prince to obsess over slabs of rock and dirt. Pushing aside those feelings, Lance focused on walking. Putting one foot in front of the other and keeping pace with everyone else.

The group breached the top of a particularly steep hill. Lance was the first one up, and took in the sight with a low whistle. “Wow… nice view.”

Pidge plopped down on a nearby rock and groaned. “Yeah, but hard to get to. I am so not prepared for hiking today.” 

“Well here’s hoping we don’t have to go much farther.” From the look of things, the only place to go was down. This hill was long, but didn’t continue up to the rest of the mountains. Instead it dipped down to a little, barren valley before shooting up even higher into the first behemoth of the foothills. “Oy, Coran! Any chance we have to climb up the side of a mountain?”

Coran appeared moments later, not looking even slightly tired despite the heat and hike. “Hmmm, doesn’t look like it. In fact, according to this it looks like we’re nearly on top of the source.”

“Really?” Both Pidge and Lance hurried over to look at the screen. There was a stationary blue dot sitting amongst hazy lines that were supposed to be a map of the terrain. The screen flitted in and out of focus, but one solid whack from Coran was enough to get it to readjust.

“It looks like it’s below us.” Pidge pointed out.

Just then, Hunk called out to them. “Hey guys? I think there’s a cave down there.” He pointed down the hill to a spot that could have passed for a pile of boulders. Actually studying the rocks, Lance realized there was a gap in the pile. It didn’t look like much from where they stood, but Lance had a feeling that they were heading in the right direction.

“Let’s go check it out.” He declared enthusiastically. One sharp tug on his collar made him jump back. “Ow! Oh, what now Allura?”

His big sister frowned at him, a familiar annoyed look in her eyes. “You need to be careful.” She lectured. “We don’t know what’s in that cave or what’s making that signal. You can’t just go barreling down there and bursting in without hesitation.”

“What makes you think I’m going to do that?” Lance asked aghast.

“Because I am your sister and I have been subject to your antics for 18 years.”

Lance grumbled, not having a good comeback. With that minor lecture out of the way, the five of them carefully made their way down the hill. The entrance to the cave almost seemed to grow wider the closer they got. Walking around to the front it was clearly a big cave. The entrance was wide and tall, tall enough for even Hunk to walk through without any problems. 

The place was eerie and strangely cold. Rifling through her back pack, Pidge pulled out a small flashlight and walked next to Coran as he lead them deeper into the cave.

“Well, this is definitely heading in the right direction…” the older Altean practically muttered. He kept shaking the screen, holding the antenna up higher as he did so. “Oh quiznak. The signal keeps going out.”

“That’s uh… not a good thing, is it?” Hunk suddenly huddled closer to Lance, his shoulders hunched up as he began to look around suspiciously.

Lance pat his friend on the shoulder. “It’s probably just interference. I mean, were literally inside a mountain.”

“Yeah but if were getting closer to whatever we looking for, shouldn’t the signal be getting stronger and not disappearing every few seconds?”

“Uh…” he had a point. As Lance tried to think of something comforting to say, there was a small gasp of wonder coming from his other side. “Allura? What is it?”

She didn’t answer right away and instead kept looking at the wall next to them. “Pidge, could you shine the light over here?”

“Sure.” The bright white beam settled on the wall and suddenly Lance could see what caught his sister’s eye. Carvings littered the walls. They went high enough to touch the ceiling and low enough that some were actually under their feet.

“…whoa…” Lance said under his breath, his fingers for some reason itching to touch the designs. Pidge pushed up her glasses, an obvious gleam of interest hiding behind those lenses.

“Weird… I didn’t think any ancient civilizations lived out here. Hunk? You know anything?”

The big guy shook his head, his early fear washed away by curiosity. “Not on this side of the desert. More towards the south where the river used to run. But I don’t think they filled any caves with carvings of lions. There aren’t even any mountain lions or cougars in the area.”

One word pulled Lance away from the wall. “Lions? Like the lions of Voltron? Is that a story here too?”

“Uh, no. What’s Voltron?” Hunk asked.

Allura answered. “A story from home. A children’s tale, really. Our father used to tell it to us when we were young.”

Hunk shook his head. “Never heard of it. Lions are just a type of animal here on Earth, but they live way too far for any ancient civilization to know what they looked like. I wonder how these cave drawings ended up here?”

“Aliens.” Pidge said flatly, the smirk on her face making the joke more obvious.

Lance held his hands up and giggled. “Not this alien. Hey Coran, got and ideas… Coran?”

Behind them, Coran had dropped his equipment. The wire’s he was tangled in sat in a forgotten heap on the ground as he was practically pressing his nose against the wall. His fingers were running along one on of the carvings, the head of a lion.

A little nervous, Lance took a few tentative steps towards his tutor. “C-Coran? Everything okay?”

A bit of his mutterings caught his ear. “… can’t be… simply impossible… could it really…here of all places…?”In a quick motion, Coran pushed himself off the wall and went straight for Pidge. “Could I have the light?”

Pidge looked startled at the sudden request but held out the flash light. As soon as he had it in his hands, Coran was off. Barreling deeper into the cave, the light flashed off the walls, illuminating more of the carvings that decorated the walls. Lance and the others took off after him.

“Coran! Coran, what’s wrong?” Lance tried to catch up but the Altean was surprisingly quick on his feet. The deeper they travelled into the cave, the more drawings appeared on the walls. Lions and stars, swirls and strange symbols more and more until it all became incredibly cluttered. Coran skidded to a stop in front of a particularly large carving. It showed a full bodied lion with its head raised almost like it was roaring.

Lance slowed at the sight. As he stared, it was almost as if he could hear it. Hear the lion roar.

“Coran…?” Allura, a little breathless, came up behind their tutor and placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. “Coran… what’s wrong? Do you know where these marking came from?”

For a moment, no one said anything. They all simply observed, waiting for something to change. Lance decided to follow his sister’s action and stepped forward. His clumsiness suddenly decided to rear its head and Lance stumbled on a loose rock. He cursed and reached out for something to help his regain his balance. Lance’s hand met the wall and then everything changed.

Suddenly the flash light was the dimmest light in the cave. The carvings were ignited with a blazing blue energy. The light traveling swiftly from one end of the cave to the other. The light was beautiful, pulsing in carved lines on the walls at an uneven pace.

“Wh-whats happening??” Hunk sputtered, clutching on to Pidge’s arm. His head spun around to Lance. “What’s going on?!”

“How should I know!?” The prince gaped.

“I don’t know! You’re an alien! Weird things probably happen to you all that time!”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“Oh _shut it_ you two!” Pidge barked, tugging her arm loose. She stepped forward about to continue her tirade when the ground shook. A circle of blue appeared beneath them and the ground began to crumble away. The group of five barely had time to react as the ground fell to pieces. Lance yelped, an embarrassing sound as he and his friends were sent sliding down into the depths of the cave. The slick surface under him was gone in a flash and soon Lance was thrown into a shallow pool.

The water was absolutely freezing, soaking him in seconds. Lance pushed himself up and gulped down air before something (or someone) landed on his back and pushed him temporarily back underwater. Lance flailed, soft sand from the bottom of the pool covering his face. When the person finally got off his back, the prince scrambled to a sitting position, shaking the water and muck from his face.

“UGH I’m gonna be tasting that goop for _weeks_!”

Allura rubbed his back, a guilty lit to her voice. “I’m sorry Lance…”

“Watch where you’re landing, next time!”

“What? We were _falling_ , Lance. Literally falling! It’s not like I chose to land on you.”

“Pfft, yeah right. I bet this is just pay back for eating all the Oreo’s Hunk gave us the other day.”

“I knew that was you! You told me it was Coran!”

“And you believed me. Who’s the gullible one now?”

“Lance-“

“Would you two SHUT UP!” Pidge’s shrill command made the two of them flinch. Lance and Allura stared up at the little human who was standing at the edge of the pool. “Can you like, pause this little sibling argument? There’s something you need to see.”

Without saying anything else, Pidge marched through the water and onto the shore. The water rippled from where she moved, bumping against the two royals who were still sitting in the pool. Lance stood and held out a hand for his sister. As soon as they were both standing, Lance could see what Pidge was talking about.

“…is that…? No… it can’t be.” In front of them, a massive blue particle barrier was surrounding a lone figure inside. An equally enormous blue mechanical lion that the young prince had dreamed about when he was just a child.

“I don’t believe it…” Allura raised a shaking hand to her mouth. “That’s… that’s the Blue Lion… a lion of Voltron. But- how it this _possible_?”

Lance and Allura hurried over to their friends who had already crowded near the edge of the barrier. While his sister went to place a hand on the barrier, Lance stayed behind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the lion’s eyes were watching him. It was… creepy.

Standing a little ways back like him, Hunk scooted close to his side. “Did she just say Voltron? Wait- is this _thing_ Voltron? I thought it was just a story?”

“There are five lions of Voltron, this is only one part.” Lance answered without looking away from the mechanical beast. “And it _is_ just a story… or at least, I thought it was…”

But the proof was staring him in the eye. Voltron was real and Lance suddenly felt like he was a little kid again. His eyes practically sparkled looking up at the lion. All those stories his father told him, all those fantastic tales of epic battles and brave warriors, they were all true. A dream he had given up on long ago was suddenly back in the fore front of his mind. Along with it, several questions all of which were going to be directed at his tutor. After all, Coran started acting incredibly strange the minute those carvings had been noticed.

Allura seemed to have the same train of thought. She sidled up closer to Coran and spoke quietly. “You… you knew, didn’t you? That Voltron was real.”

Coran stayed quiet, his hand pressed against the barrier like it was the only thing keeping him steady. The princess stepped closer.

“Please Coran. Tell us what you know.”

The older Altean sighed, his shoulders dropping a bit as his hand fell away from the barrier. He turned, eyeing both young royals before he spoke.

“There are a great many things your father didn’t get a chance to tell you. Important things, not just to us Alteans, but to every species in the universe.” He glanced at Pidge and Hunk. “Yes. Voltron is real. And besides me and King Alfor, no one has any idea of its whereabouts.”

“Why you?” Lance blurted out. “Uh- no offense or anything, but it make’s sense for the king to know. I know were an advisor for a while and a mechanic, but why did do you know?”

“Much like you Lance, I inherited the responsibility from my father. As he did from my grandfather. Goes back centuries actually.” Coran twisted his mustache, temporarily lost in the past. “It was kept a secret for so long because of the danger. If any part of Voltron were to fall into the wrong hands, it would spell catastrophe for the universe. So the Altean royal family was given the duty of keeping the whereabouts of the lions hidden. They were spread out across the universe, protected by symbols like the ones we saw up there. Not sure why it opened for us so easily…”

“But why us?” Allura asked. “Why were the Alteans chosen?”

“Alteans have been around a long time princess, and in the time not once have we started any wars. Something in our blood seeks peace, and so we were trusted to protect it. At least, that’s what my granddad told me.”

Lance was still reeling at the fact that there was a giant blue lion sitting in front of them. Trying to process the fact that his father actually knew that these things existed was another challenge entirely. If things hadn’t gone awry, it would be King Alfor telling him all this instead of Coran. He’d be standing back at the place- back home hearing all this. There’d be no Galra, no attack, no death. Well, there would be one Galra.

An idea shot itself into Lance’s head and latched on. This was it. His chance to get off this planet.

“That’s it!” He exclaimed. Everyone practically jumped at his sudden shout and looked at him inquiringly.

“Uhh… what is?” Hunk asked.

“That’s how I’m going to save Keith!” he responded happily. “In all the stories my dad told us, these lions can fly incredibly fast. It might take a while, but with this I can get back to Altea and get Keith back. After that, we can find the other lions and take back our planet.”

The princess’s eyes grew wide. She stuttered for a bit, not to sure where to start. “Lance… little brother. I don’t know if- if that would work.”

“And why not?” Lance wasn’t in the mood to be told no. Not when he’d finally found something that could save his Keith and his planet as well.

“You remember those stories just as well as I do. A paladin has to be chosen. Not just anybody can pilot one of the lions. And besides, going back to Altea now would be too dangerous. If we do manage to pilot the Blue Lion, we should focus on finding the other parts of Voltron. Then we can safely get back to Altea-“

“No! I can’t wait any longer, Allura.” Lance snapped. “It’s been three weeks. _Three weeks_. I’ve been doing a really good job of keeping it together, but I just can’t anymore. I’m scared that if I wait any longer, Keith won’t be there for me to save. I- I’m scared that he’s already d-dead.”

Everyone was staring at him. Only Allura knew how he felt about his former bodyguard. The others looked like they were beginning to fill in the blanks with this little emotional outburst. Lance took a moment to collect himself. If he kept thinking the worst, he’d very well melt into a puddle of tears. And that wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

Lance steeled himself, trying to think of the situation at hand like a leader would. _Focus on the facts. The advantages and disadvantages. Let your emotions and bonds drive you. Do not let them weigh you down._ His father’s lessons really did stick with him. And here Lance thought he was terrible at paying attention.

First things first, convince your team. “‘Lura… this is the first time I’ve actually felt hopeful for weeks. And not just about Keith, but about our planet and people too. We have a shot- and real chance to take back our home.”

“I know that.” Allura said softly. She looked up at the blue lion, the light from the particle barrier casting a blue light on her delicate features. In that moment, she looked far older than Lance had ever seen her. “But Lance, this is only one part of Voltron. While I don’t mean to doubt its power, it still might not be enough. The entire Galra population is back on Altea. And not to mention the countless amounts of drones they could be building at this moment. While a good portion of their population was wiped out with the destruction of their planet, it seems that the strongest have survived. I don’t want to take a risk that might end up in us losing one another. I… I simply can’t.”

Lance felt his heart plummet to the ground. Allura, his strong beautiful sister, was scared. Scared of losing him, scared of him losing her. While the two royals were very close, Lance sometimes forgot just how protective his sister could be. And seeing that they now only had each other to call family, he could see why she didn’t like his plan. It was too risky.

The young prince deflated, realizing that this one piece of Voltron wouldn’t be enough to save Keith. Allura was right; they needed the whole damn thing if he wanted to take it all back.

“If I may.” Coran cleared his throat. “Both of you are right.”

“Huh?” Lance and Allura questioned in unison.

Coran continued. “We do need all of the lions in order to form Voltron and free Altea, but in order to do that we need the proper equipment to track them down. And that is back on Altea. Not only that, but the Black Lion is there as well.”

“It’s what?!” Lance shrieked. “Th-the Black Lion is back home? On Altea? But where??”

“In the castle of course.”

“WHAT?” Both the royals shouted this time. Allura put both hands on Coran’s shoulders and nearly shook him as she spoke. “You mean we’ve been living with the Black Lion in our home our entire lives without knowing? How is that even possible?”

“Careful planning.” Coran said calmly. “The castle is actually more than just a castle.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Coran knelt down and began drawing in the dirt with his finger. It was a bird’s eye view of the royal place. “The outer areas of the castle are actually made of stone and built up from the ground, but in the inner ring, the very center, is actually a ship.”

“… what.” Lance gaped.

“You heard right. It’s a ship. Long ago it was given the name Castle of Lions. At the top each of the five spires are actually hangers designed for each of the lions. The Black Lion is in the center.”

“But…that’s right around the throne room. How come we never noticed?”

“Fairly simple actually. The whole place is equipped with a perception filter.”

“That is… actually yeah. That makes sense.” Lance conceded. Perception filters, especially one’s made by Alteans, were incredibly convincing. They could make a dead flower look and feel alive again as well as steer any curious eyes away from a secret, simply buy making it seem un-extraordinary. So simple.

“So basically what you’re telling us is that the castle that we’ve been living in our entire lives is actually a giant ship made for holding the greatest power in the universe and that a giant black lion is actually sitting above the throne room where me and my sister have spent most of our childhood staring at the ceiling out of boredom? Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Just making sure.”

“Coran?” Allura spoke up.

“Yes, princess?”

“You said that the technology we need to track down the rest of the lions is back on Altea. How are we going to get there and then get to the Castle of Lions?”

The advisor frowned. “That’s where I’m stuck at the moment. We need to find the paladin for the Blue Lion, and that’s only half the problem. Then we have to figure out how to get to the surface of Altea without getting blown to smithereens.”

Allura glanced back at the lion and frowned. She reached out yet again and pressed on the barrier, seemingly hoping that it would open. Lance stared curiously at the mechanized lion. He still felt like he was being watched. Following his sister, Lance hesitantly placed his hand on the barrier.

At first, nothing happened. Then the barrier shuttered, moving like ripples in water. Lance jumped back as the barrier began to retract, retreating back to the top until eventually it was completely gone.

“Wh-what?” the prince gaped. Before anyone could do even process what had happened, the lion moved. Its eyes lit up and its head tilted down. This time Lance was positive it was looking at him. The lion stood and seemed to shake off the dirt that had settled on it. With on smooth motion, it knelt down and opened it giant mouth directly in front Lance. A ramp was visible inside, and second later it extended to the ground, inviting him in.

“Okay, could somebody explain to me what just happened?” Hunk was trying to hide behind Pidge’s much shorter frame. Lance had nearly forgotten the two humans were there at all and almost felt guilt about it. However the robot lion inviting him into its cockpit had him a little distracted from that.

Allura was the one who answered. “I think… I think the Blue Lion just chose its paladin.”

The young prince whipped around to his sister. “…me? You… think it chose _me_?”

“What else could it be doing.” She smiled, relief and excitement all flooded into the same expression. “Lance, you are the Blue Paladin.”

Visions of lions flying across the stars filled his mind. Streaks of yellow, purple, green and red blazing past him. A loud choruses of roars. Five lions merging into one. All this time, Lance thought those were just dreams from his overactive imagination. Turns out, the Blue Lion had been calling out to him all along. _I’m not useless. I’m not just an extra. I am special. I am important. I am a paladin._

“Now this changes everything.” He grinned, unable to contain his excitment. “Now we can get back to Altea!”

Lance rushed to the ramp only to be stopped by a harsh tug on the back on his shirt.

“Hold on there you,” Coran tutted. “We still need a plan. We can’t fly into Altean air space and expect the Galra to flee once they see a Voltron lion.”

“Coran, is there any chance that Zarkon knows of the lions? Or of Voltron in general?” Allura, ever the cautious one, asked.

“It’s unlikely. We’ve kept this secret for nearly 10,000 years. Be a bit of blow to my confidence if the secret got out on my watch.”

Allura nodded, comfortable with that answer. “Now that we have the Blue Lion, we still need to figure out how to get on and off Altea safely.”

The three Alteans stood for a moment in silence, mulling over the situation. Help came from an unexpected place.

“I think I can help with that.” Pidge untangled herself from Hunk and pulled out her lap top. “Coran, you me and Hunk can modify an Earth ship for long distance space travel. The Blue Lion can tow the ship because, let’s face it. Earth tech is probably nowhere near as fast as alien stuff.”

“That’s probably true.” Coran agreed. “Your primitive technology is laughable at best.”

“I’m just gonna ignore that… if we modify a ship to withstand the trip, we can use it as a distraction.” Pidge flipped her lap top around and showed a slow moving model of ship. She grinned mischievously as the video progressed. “We load up the empty ship with a bunch explosives and when the Galra head over to investigate, we set it off. Boom! That’ll give us the time to sneak onto the planet.”

Lance was nodding along enthusiastically until he realized that Pidge said us. “Wait wait wait… _us_? As in, all of us?”

“That is what us means, Lance.”

“But you and Hunk can’t come.”

“And why not?” Pigdes’ eye’s narrowed.

Lance was a little thrown by the fierce look in her eyes, but continued any way. “Because this isn’t your fight. The Galra attacked our home, captured my friend. I’m not going to let you guys get caught up in a war.”

“You don’t have much of a choice, buddy.” Hunk had seemed to calm himself during all the talking and arguing. His hands were still nervously wrapped in one another, but at least his whole body wasn’t shaking this time. “Look Lance, you’re our friend. Allura and Coran too. I think I speak for Pidge too when I say that if there’s a way we can help you guys, were going to do it. No matter what. And also I think Pidge wants to kind of use this opportunity to look for her family.”

Lance had completely forgotten about that. He glanced over at Pidge who suddenly focused on her computer screen. A twinge of guilt passed through him.

Hunk stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re gonna be stuck with us for a while.”

“You sure?” Lance asked, his voice softer then he would have liked. “Are you sure you want to do this? You might be gone a while.”

“Absolutely.” Pidge tucked her computer away and stood by Hunk. “I’ll just tell my mom that I’m going on vacation with some aliens. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever told her.”

Lance turned back to Coran and Allura. Both of them seemed to be smiling at him, but he wasn’t quite sure why.

“I guess it’s settled then.” Coran clapped his hands together. “But first, Pidge. Instead of one ship, why not a few more?”

That devilish smirk was back on her face as she plopped back down on the ground. “A few more? I think I can do that.”

Lance was beaming at his friends, until another problem entered his mind. They had a way there, a plan to get to the surface, but how on earth was he supposed to find Keith? There were thousands, actually thousands of places he could be. Lance twisted his earring between his fingers, a habit that had started whenever he thought of his Galra. And that’s when he realized. The earring.

The young prince unclipped the earring and stared at it, wondering. “Hey ‘lura?”

“Yes?” his sister detached herself from the planning and came up beside him.

“You know how when I was a kid I’d get lost a lot?”

“You mean when you’d been convinced that every day was a game of hide and seek? Yes, I remember. Father and mother made tracking devices after the third time to wondered out of the castle.”

He chuckled at the memory. “Yeah… well, any chance this is one of them?”

Lance handed her the earring and she studied it closely. A knowing smile crossed her face. “Why, I think it is. Coran, any chance we can modify that tracking device you made?”

 

* * *

 

 

It was the 8th time Keith had been in this room, and still nothing had changed. Haggar would come and do her work, but whatever progress she was making before seemed to have stalled. His dreams hadn’t changed since the second visit to this place and he see she was getting frustrated. The witches usually impassive face was noticeably irritated, her lips curled into a snarl far more often then he could count.

As for her magic, it seemed to have lost its sting. That’s not to say it didn’t hurt. It hurt like nothing else Keith had ever felt. But recently, it hadn’t been as terrible. The magic that coursed through his body felt a little like getting hit with a blaster set to stun. It hurt like hell, but you still walk afterwards.

Haggar had left early today. Keith knew because he had taken to counting out the time he spent everywhere. His training as a solider was serving him well in strange ways. Like his ability to focus on remedial things while simultaneously dealing with a plethora of things in front of him. Their sessions usually lasted roughly 7200 seconds, but today they stopped at 3468. A big difference.

Keith was left bound to the chair, like he was every so often. The bruises on his wrists and ankles seemed likely to never go away, but he had gotten used to their dull throbbing. His side had healed. Somehow. After Lotor’s visit, the thicker side of his injury had indeed reopened, but after rebinding it with his sleeve and staying impossibly still when left alone, it closed up on its own. Another sign that time was moving forward faster than he realized. The scar it left behind was large and ugly looking. A constant reminder.

Keith still didn’t have a solid guess as to how long he’d been stuck here. How long ago he had last seen Lance. The little food and water he got seemed incredibly infrequent and if it weren’t for his time spent at a Galra training facility, he would have gone mad simply waiting to be fed. But the Galra trained their warriors to survive any condition or torture. It seems they had done a little too well with him.

Thankfully, Keith had been spared the company of Lotor since his one visit. He hadn’t seen the Galra prince since he put this stupid ring around his neck. A ring which Keith still had no idea what it did. As soon as he was alone, Keith tore at the device, trying to get it off. His clawed fingers scraped against the metal, trying to find a seam or something that he could get his claw in and pry open. But there was nothing. Not that he could find.

It was probably linked to Lotor’s touch, meaning that he was the only one who could take it off. All of Galra tech was only useable to those with Galra blood. Locks, control panels, doors, everything. This ring around his neck was just designed for one specific Galra to have control over. And it was so aggravating.

With that mystery piled atop the many that were already crowding his mind, Keith was doing alright. Better than he expected. But that being said, he still worried about Lance. That silly prince. That silly, wonderful, kind prince. At first he was eager to see him again. To see him safe, his large smile and bright eyes directed at him. At a Galra, who truthfully didn’t deserve either. But Lance was nothing if not surprising. In the short time they spent together, Keith can’t remember a time when he was more content while simultaneously in a constant state of shock. Lance sure did know how to keep him on his toes.

Keith didn’t know when he started smiling. Whenever he thought of the Altean prince, it just sort of happened. It was natural. He leaned his head back against the cool metal of the chair. Staring up at the dark ceiling, Keith fought with his urge to protect and his want to see Lance again. Lotor had unsettled him. The device around his neck and the words that cut into his heart terrified Keith. He didn’t want Lance to come. Not with a scheming rat like Lotor around. It would only cause more pain. But at the same time…

At the same time, Keith wanted so desperately to get out. To be free from the dreams, from Haggar’s magic, from whatever power Emperor Zarkon thought he had. He wanted Lance to burst through that door and take him away. To save him. He wanted it nearly as much as he wanted to see his mother again. Keith never thought he’d care for someone else on the same level as his beloved mother.

While stewing in his thoughts, Keith didn’t notice the low rumble at first. He wrote it off as the groan of a machine or the dragging steps of a drone. But then, he felt a shudder. It was subtle; _very_ subtle. If he were walking or doing anything else, he might not have noticed it. But seeing as he was strapped to a chair with nothing else to do, he noticed.

Keith closed his eyes, sitting perfectly still.

_… boom…_

It was faint, hell his heart was beating louder than that, but he heard it. He heard an explosion. Keith could feel his pulse rising. A mixture of worry and excitement shooting through his veins.

A few moments later, the door opened. It wasn’t drones this time, it was two Galra soldiers.

“What’s going on?” Keith demanded with all the gusto he could manage. The soldiers were quiet, not even sparing him a glace while they undid his bindings. “Somethings happening, isn’t it?”

More quiet.  He was pulled up by his arms. One of the guards pulled cuffs out from his belt. The next rumbled was louder and ship actually trembled. Both of the soldiers stopped for just a moment, but a moment was all he needed.

Keith grabbed the cuffs that were meant for him and quickly locked one side onto the Galra closest to him. Both soldiers reacted quickly, one aiming a blow for his head. Keith leaned back to avoid it, pulling the other with him and unbalancing the Galra.  Keith brought his knee up and nailed the handcuffed guard right in the stomach. The guard wheezed, his knees trembling from the harshness of the attack. With one distracted, Keith blocked another attack aimed at his head with his free arm. He grabbed the fist he blocked and yanked it aside. Keith head-butted the other solider. Ignoring the pounding in his head he ducked down and swept the solider legs out from under him. Keith, with the other side of the hand cuff still in his hand, pulled the other guard down to the ground and handcuffed the two of them together.

Both of the Galra looked shocked that he managed to take them down, but that shock wasn’t going to last forever. Keith stood and pulled his leg back. Once, then twice. The Galra soldiers were out cold. With quick motions, he searched the two only to come up empty handed. They really weren’t expecting any kind of retaliation from him if they didn’t even bring any weapons. He felt a little insulted that they doubted him, but he already got his revenge.

Keith went to the open door, listening carefully before turning the corner. The next few decision were vital if he wanted to get off this stupid ship. First things first, find out what was going on outside. If it was a friend, if it was _Lance_ , then he had to get to him. He had to get to the prince before something happened to him.

Keith tore down the halls of the Galra ship, weary that every turn he took would only lead him head on into a drone or more soldiers. The ship rumbled again, this time a little more violently then before causing him to reach out to the walls and brace himself. Keith absently wondered why. If they had the particle barrier up, it shouldn’t be this bad. They shouldn’t be able to feel anything unless… unless the damage was already that bad. But what kind of ship had weapons that could damage their shield like that? Any Altean ship that had that power was either grounded or destroyed. What was out there?

The sound of voices made him skid to a stop. Heavy steps were coming round the corner and Keith cursed. He sprinted back to the other side of the hall, but this long stretch was possibly the worse to be caught in. Just as he turned the corner, he heard a shout.

“There he is!”

Keith pounded down the halls, turning as many times as he could to try and loose his pursuers. The footsteps were constant behind, growing in number as he frantically tried to get away. Then he noticed the sounds coming from in front of him. Keith panicked, stopping dead in the middle of the hall. He looked around, desperate for a maintenance hatch or _something_ to get him out of this. The small army of solider following him from behind turned the corner and Keith decided to risk going forward. Maybe, just maybe he’d be able to fight past the group ahead of him. Keith didn’t get the chance to find out.

There was sharp crack behind him, followed by a thick cord wrapping around his torso. Keith growled as the cord tightened, binding his arms to his side. He tried to move forward, tried to yank whoever was holding the other end off his feet, but it wouldn’t budge. A hard tug jerked him backward and Keith fell on his back hard enough to send pain shooting up to his skull. In seconds, he was surrounded. Rough hands and rotten sneers all aimed at the poor little Galra who wasn’t strong enough to escape.

The bindings weren’t loosened, and heavy gloved hands dug into his shoulders as Keith was forced back down the path he’d come from. Keith pushed back, digging his heels into the ground to try and slow them down. He was so close, so damn close to getting out. Keith snarled and spat every horrible abuse he knew at the soldiers. If only he had a more colorful vocabulary to properly insult them.

He was dragged back to the cell block, kicking and screaming the entire time. Keith was shoved into his cell, the binds left on long enough for him to fall flat on his face. As soon as they loosened, Keith was pushing himself up to make a go at the soldiers only for the cell door to slam in his face. Rubbing salt in the wound, the small window that he was served food out of was swung open as two soldiers watched him seethe. 

“Look at him, growling like he’s actually a threat. Like you’d stand a chance against an actual Galra solider.” One of them taunted. Keith’s fury only grew when he recognized the voice of one of the former members of his training group.

“Plydo.” Keith growled. “Unlock this door and lets find out which one of us is stronger.”

“No can do, little half breed. A true Galra follows orders.”

“Orders that only prove just how stupid you are. What about your pride? Are you really going to let me keep insulting you like this?” Keith was just praying that Plydo took the bait. He knew he could take him down, he’d done so countless times when they were young. He just needed to press the right buttons. “Last time we spared, it only took me a few ticks to take you down. Didn’t even break a sweat.”

Plydo was staring at him, his brows angled dangerously. The other solider standing next to him was looking at the two of them with a tinge of worry.

“What’s is going to be Ply? Are you really going to leave it at that? Letting a little half breed, traitor beat you?”

The Galra leaned closer like he was going to say something, but a sound cut him off. The sound of blaster fire. Both of them turned, a look of shock on their faces. Keith didn’t hesitate. His arm shot out of the small opening and seized the closest thing, which happened to be Plydo’s throat. Keith yanked him forward, multiple times until the Galra went limp in his grasp.

“Hey!” the other solider finally noticed and acted. Something came down hard on Keith’s arm and he cried in pain. His hold on Plydo was released as he pulled his arm back, followed by the butt of a blaster squeezing through the opening and slamming him in the face. Keith growled and made to claw for the solider, but the small door was slammed shut, leaving him in semi darkness.

Keith rubbed him arm, nothing broken but it stung like crazy. He pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen to what was happening outside. He definitely heard blaster fire, and judging from the look of surprise on Plydo and the other’s face, it was an enemy. But who? His answer came moments later when the mechanics of the door began to churn. Keith stepped back, unsure of what to expect. What he did see, left him gaping.

“…Lance?” he breathed. Standing there, his hair tussled, clothes an absolute mess and just so indescribably _perfect_ was Lance. The prince’s face slowly spread into a wide smile.

“Keith.” His voice was the most gratifying sound in the entire galaxy. The young Galra felt a flutter in his chest that he hadn’t felt in ages. Lance dropped the blaster he’d been carrying and lunged. “Keith!”

Lance crashed into Keith, his arms wrapping around his middle tightly. Keith didn’t know what to do. Here was Lance, the prince he cares for so much, holding him like he was the most precious thing in the entire universe. And Keith didn’t know what to do. He can’t remember ever being hugged like this, not this desperately.

The prince didn’t seem to care and buried his face into the front of Keith’s tattered uniform. “I found you… I found you!  Just like I said I would.”

Keith looked down and truly began to process what was happening. He swallowed, forcing the lump of disbelief down his throat to speak.

“You found me.” Keith relaxed and slowly brought his arms around Lance’s lean frame. He bent his head down, selfishly pressing his cheek against the prince’s soft, silver hair. He breathed in his scent deeply, reaffirming to himself over and over again that yes; this was really happening, yes; Lance was really here. Keith felt himself crumble. “… you found me.”

There was a huff of laughter from Lance who then hugged Keith tighter. “Sorry for taking so long.”

“I’m just glad you came.” Keith said quickly. He felt a slight shudder in Lance’s shoulders, followed by a little sniff. The prince pulled back, but his hands stayed on Keith’s waist.

“Of course I came. A prince never breaks his promise.” A little wink of one of those bright blue eyes and a cheeky smile. Typical Lance. His expression changed in an instant as he began studying Keith. He looked the Galra up and down, his eyes lingering on the bloody spot of fabric on his side. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lance’s hand went up to Keith’s cheek where his black eye had long ago faded. Keith leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and revealing in the feel of Lance’s skin. “I’m fine. More than fine now that you are here.”

His eye’s opened to a slightly pink cheeked prince, his freckles a good shade darker than normal. Lance stuttered a bit, obviously flustered. “G-good. Didn’t want to have to drag off this stupid ship. Speaking of, we need to get out of here.”

Keith nodded, switching from relaxed to tense and battle ready in seconds. “You’re right. Do you have a ship?”

Lance smirked reaching for the blaster. “Better than a ship. But I can explain on the way. C’mon!”

The two left that dingy stupid cell, running down the cell block where a number of Galra were already knocked out cold. Keith couldn’t help but be impressed by the princes marksmanship skills. He knew that Lance was good but this was downright amazing.

Running side by side, Lance began to explain the situation. “Allura, Coran are on Altea with Pidge an Hunk-“

“Who?”

“I made new friends! We kind of crash landed on their planet and they’ve been helping us. Pidge is a computer genius while Hunk can build literally anything without breaking a sweat. The helped us come up with a plan to get you and Voltron!”

Keith nearly tripped over his foot. “Voltron? Why is everyone talking about Voltron?”

Lance slowed near the end of the hall they were currently running through. “Everyone? What do you mean everyone?”

“Emperor Zarkon mentioned it too. Right after you escaped. I think… he said something about finding it and I think he believes I can help with that.”

“You? But how- why?”

“I don’t know. But for some reason Zarkon is keeping me here instead of sending me off to a work camp or the arena. He thinks I’m connected to some sort of power, but I have no idea what. But, Voltron isn’t real. Your father said it was a fairytale?”

At that Lance grinned. “I thought so too, but that was before I became the Blue Paladin.”

Keith felt his jaw drop. “You w-what?”

“That’s right, and the palace is actually hiding the Black Lion. Crazy right?”

“But how… how is that possible? Zarkon had been in the palace the whole time.”

“Perception filters.”

_Ah. That makes sense._ Keith nodded.

“I kind of crashed the Blue Lion into a hanger while Pidge set of the second round of distractions. We’ve got about five dobashes before she sets off the next round to cover our escape.”

All that talk had distracted them and stalled their progress. Keith was the first to notice the drones heading for them and pushed Lance down the hall. The prince yelped and fired off a few wild shots before turning completely. They sprinted towards the hanger where the Blue Lion was waiting, all the while Lance fired over his shoulder. At the final turn, Lance ducked behind the corner and began firing on the drones with incredible accuracy. The small group of pursuers piled up, being easily picked off by Lance’s shooting.

The Prince whooped, jumping up in victory when the last went down. Keith on the other hand, got suspicious. There should have been more. More following them, more trying to block their path. There were over a dozen soldiers chasing after him alone, especially now that he was with not only the escaped Altean prince, but a paladin of the legendary Voltron? There should have been more. This should be harder, but now they were nearly at the hanger, nearly at freedom, and Keith was feeling anxious.

_No, it’s okay. Lance is here and everything is going to be okay._ Keith reassured himself, reaching to hold Lance’s free hand while they ran. He needed to relax. Everything was going to be okay. Keith tried to swallow, but it was hard. His throat felt like it was contracting. Probably from all the running. He hadn’t had any sort of physical activity in well, he didn’t know how long. Keith ignored it and kept moving.

They came to a fork and Lance slowed. Keith coughed, fighting to catch his breath. “Which way?” he tried not to wheeze.

“Uhh… this way? Yeah, this way c’mon! We’re almost there.” Lance squeezed his hand pulled. Keith kept trying to ignore the lingering fear that they weren’t being followed. _No this is good. We’re getting out. Everything is going to be fine._

The hall opened up to a large hanger empty except for a giant mechanical blue lion sitting near the opposite end. Keith froze at the sight, his breathing more ragged then he’d like to admit. He noticed the childlike look on Lance’s face at the sight of the lion.

“Keith, meet Blue.”

The young Galra didn’t know what to say, or really he couldn’t say anything. He blamed it on being in awe, but really he felt like his throat was closing in on itself. Keith coughed again, trying to loosen things up, but it didn’t work. Before he could try anything else, Lance was pulling him towards then lion, chatting like an excited child.

Keith was excited too.  He was so excited and happy to be getting off this ship, to have Lance holding his hand. He hadn’t felt this much joy since Lance gave him that earring. The one that matched the jewel dangling from the prince’s right ear. He wanted to get away, he wanted to share in this moment of bliss with his prince, his Lance. But he couldn’t. Because the closer they got to freedom, the less Keith was able to breath.

The young Galra was wheezing, his windpipe shrinking with every step. Keith panicked, a shaking hand reaching up to the device Lotor had clasped around his neck. He could make it, if he could just take a few more steps, he’d be safe with Lance inside that giant beautiful blue lion. So blue… like the princes eyes…

Keith felt himself fading, his wobbly legs finally unable to hold his weight any longer. His grip fell slack in the prince’s hand.

“Keith? Keith!” Lance dropped his blaster, holding tight onto Keith’s hand and dropping on one knee. “Keith- Keith what’s wrong? What’s _wrong_!?”

Lance looked panic stricken, his eyes blown wide and lips trembling. Keith tried to focus on his face, on his beautiful face, but he was declining fast. Keith motioned to his neck, but his arms felt limp and useless. He panted, trying desperately to get air, but it was impossible. Keith felt himself fall forward into Lances chest.

“Keith!” Lance shrieked.

His hazing mind noted other footsteps approaching, heavy booted steps. An enemy.

_No… Lance… get out… before they come…_

“Your highness- Keith?” That voice… that was Thace.

“W-who are you?” Lance held on to Keith almost possessively. “D-don’t touch him! Don’t h-hurt him!”

“Highness, I will cause you no harm, but we need to take Keith back-“

“No! You can’t take him- I won’t let you!”

Thace must have pushed Lance aside, because in the next few moments the prince’s comforting grasp was gone and Keith was being carried back into the depths of the Galra ship. Keith could hear Lance’s pleas; he could hear his broken cries. But above all, he could feel the pressure on his throat was beginning to lessen.

Keith could breathe again. The further away from the Blue Lion; the further away from freedom they went, the better he could breathe. Keith coughed and coughed, air filling up his greedy lungs quickly. Thace began to slow while Keith recovered. After they had backtracked quiet a way, the older Galra set him down against a wall. Keith slide down and sat, breathing slowly.

Instantly, Lance was in front of him. “Keith? A-are you okay? Please… talk to me… what happened??”

Still a little lightheaded, Keith motioned to his neck. Thace seemed to catch on faster than the prince. Gently, Thace tilted Keith’s neck up and pulled his shirt collar down, revealing the smooth metal ring. He was now painfully aware of what it did. Lance’s trembling hands traced the ring, little gasps passing through his lips.

“What…? What _is_ that?”

Keith shrugged. “A g-gift. From L-Lotor…” he coughed again, his throat burning.

“ _Lotor_? That quiznaking-“

Thace interrupted the prince. “This was from Lotor?”

“Yes.” Keith croaked. “I… I didn’t know what it did. Un-until now…”

Lance looked back and forth between the two, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation. “What does it do?”

The young Galra didn’t want to tell him. He didn’t want to break the prince’s heart again. Keith closed his eyes and latched onto Lance’s hand. It felt so soft… so nice… he didn’t want to let it go again.

“You highness, I’m afraid Keith can’t leave.” Thace took that burden from him, but the pain still shot through Keith as he listened to Lance gasp. He kept his eyes closed. He couldn’t watch again.

“You… you can’t be serious… he’s leaving with _me_.” Lance practically spat out the last few words, sounding full of force.

“Prince Lance-“

“No. I’m not letting Keith stay here. He’s leaving _with me_.”

“If he does, he will die.”

Lance’s grip tightened. “What do you mean? You’re _lying_!”

“Your highness, that thing around his neck was designed by Prince Lotor. It will constrict the further it gets from its power source-“

“Then we’ll take it off. Keith isn’t staying here!”

“We can’t. Only Lotor can take it off.”

Lance’s hand was shaking now. Keith slowly opened his eyes and focused on the trembling hand wrapped within his own.

Lance’s skin looked darker, just a bit. Like he’d been sitting in the sun. There was a little cut on his forearm, dirt smudged into the sleeve of his shirt. It was such a strange, thin shirt. Nothing like he used to wear back on Altea. Keith liked it. It showed off his broad shoulders that were usually hidden under the layer of royal garb he wore. Keith’s keen eyes traced every inch of the beautiful boy sitting in front of him. Remembering everything. Every. Little. Thing.

The prince’s eyes were rimmed with red. He was holding back tears, but it looked like they were about to burst forward at any moment. Keith frowned. Lance looked so angry, so sad. And it was his fault yet again. This time, he didn’t have a choice in being left behind, and that hurt so much more.

Keith moved one of his hands slowly up to the prince. He cupped Lance’s cheek, his thumb gliding over those freckles and the blue mark on his cheek. Lance turned to look Keith in the eye, the anger vanishing and only leaving the sadness. Keith’s heart ached as the first tear fell from those blue, blue eyes.

“K-Keith…”

“Lance…” Keith moved his hand behind Lance’s neck and gently pulled him forward until their foreheads were pressed together. “Lance… I’m sorry but, you have to go.”

The prince shook his head. “I can’t do that. Not again. No- I came here to save you.”

“I know… I know you did and I-I can’t thank you enough. But I can’t leave right now-“

“No! You _have_ too! I came all this way.” Lance backed away, leaving only a few inches between them. “I’ll find Lotor and _make_ him take that stupid thing off.”

Thace moved in from the side. “I don’t think that’s wise, your highness-“

“I don’t care what’s wise!” Lance shot back. “I don’t care about any of that! I’m not leaving you behind again Keith. I- I can’t _do_ that again…”

More tears. And not just from the prince. Keith took a shuttering breath and tried to keep the tears from falling. It stung his eyes, the trails they left behind on his cheeks felt ice cold. Keith brought the princes hand up to his lips, mimicking a movement he’d seen plenty of times in court, back before everything had fallen apart. He planted a soft kiss on Lance’s knuckles, and another on the back of his hand.

“Time’s against us again.” He spoke with a shuddering voice, annoyed that he couldn’t keep his feelings in check. “Your friends outside… the distraction. You only have another two dobashes to get out-“

“I can’t leave without you Keith. Not again.”

“You have too.” Keith cupped the prince’s face again, wiping away the tears that were falling too fast. Lance ducked out of the touch and instead pulled Keith into a hug. He sobbed into Keith’s hair, tangling his fingers in the dark strands. Keith held on tight, savoring the feeling of Lance in his arms. He breathed deeply, willing Lance’s scent to stay with him. To comfort him for the trials that were sure to be ahead.

Thace had retreated, giving the two of them the moment that they needed. When Keith opened his eyes, the older Galra nodded. It was time.

“Lance… we’re out of time.” Keith pulled back and untangled the prince. “Get to your lion, get out safe. Get out safe so you can give me a proper rescue.”

Lance snorted, hastily drying his eyes with the bottom of his shirt. “This was supposed to be your rescue. I came in looking all cool too…”

Keith chuckled. “Yes… yes you did.”

The half-smile Lance wore dropped. “I swear to you, Keith. I’ll get you out of here. I’ll rescue you- for real.”

“I know you will.”

“Stay alive in the meantime. Please?”

“I will. I promise.”

Lance nodded, but clearly he wasn’t satisfied.  Keith kissed Lance’s hand once more, and then pushed him away. “Go. _Please_.”

The prince stood slowly, looking just as devastated as he did when Keith had locked himself on the other side of that airlock. It was a look that tore at a spot in his chest that he forgot he had. The center of his chest, a spot that he thought was emptied long ago. Looking at Lance, seeing just how devastated he was, the spot deep below his ribcage felt like it was being split even wider; plunged into darkness.

Keith looked to Thace and tried to sound strong. “Thace. Make sure he leaves. Don’t let him do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.” he nodded, wrapping a firm hand around Lances arm. Thace began to lead Lance away, leaving Keith sitting on the floor in the middle of an empty hall.

“I’ll be back soon Keith, ‘kay?” Lance let himself be led away, but didn’t break eye contact with Keith. “Keep that earring on, it helped me find you.”

Keith nodded, not sure what he meant. “I won’t let it go.”

Lance smiled faintly. “Stay safe.”

“You too.”

Thace pulled the prince down the hall and around the corner. And then, Keith was alone.

All of his strength left as soon as Lance was out of sight. Keith didn’t even think he could stand at this moment. He pulled his legs to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees and allowing himself to quietly cry. Eventually, they would find him. Take him back to his cell or to that chair. He was still here, a prisoner in this hell hole. And he had come so close to freedom. So close he could actually see it slipping out of his grasp. The action of letting it go was far more painful than he could have imagined. It hurt more than any of the torture Haggar had put him through. This… this was not something his training had prepared him for. This ache in his chest. It was the worst torture than he could have ever dreamed of. To have your future- your _love_ \- right in your hands, only to be force to let it all go. A true cruelty that could only have been dreamed up by one merciless individual.

Keith knew he had been left alone a while. Long enough for the rumbling outside to stop. Long enough for his tears to run dry. The first person to find him didn’t even put him in binds. His haughty laughter was enough.  

“Still here are you?” Lotor cooed, his steps stopping right in front of where Keith sat with his head down. “Did you see your prince?”

Keith’s ears twitched in agitation. “I did. And you made sure of that, didn’t you?” he looked up to the Galra Prince, those cruel eyes gleaming with amusement.

“I couldn’t let the little prince get caught before seeing you. So I might have sent the soldiers in the wrong direction once or twice.” A smirk pulled at his features. Lotor leaned down. “Finally found out what my little present was? Unique, isn’t it? Actually this is the only working one we have. You’re our test subject and I have to say you’re doing quite well. So much data to go over…”

“So that was your plan…” Keith mumbled, not willing to look Lotor in the eyes any longer. “Let Lance find me… and then make me let him go… make me lose him all over again…”

“Like I said, _Keith_.” Lotor’s voice dropped his casual tone and switched to something more sinister. “Matters of the heart bear far heavier chains. Any hope you had of your prince coming to save you have now been dashed. What with this ‘round your neck,” He flicked the ring which caused Keith to flinch. “You can’t leave. Not unless I release you. That or if you wish to die, which I’m still not opposed to.”

Lotor stood, appearing almost bored at the turn of events. Keith wanted to retaliate. He wanted shove Lotor’s stupid head into the wall until it no longer resembled anything but mush. He wanted to lash out with words and threats. Wanted to prove that he was still strong, still a force to be reckoned with. Still a threat.

But Keith had just had to let go of Lance again. Let go of his freedom. And with Lotor being the only one with the power to get this stupid ring- this _collar_ off of him, his chances of getting out alive were completely diminished. It was, and Keith never thought he’d think this, but it was hopeless.

Truly, utterly, hopeless.

Keith paid no mind to the soldiers that had appeared at Lotors’ side. He simply let himself be dragged back to his cell as he replayed the memories of Lance in his head. Over and over again as he slowly came to terms that he might never see his prince again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the end is nowhere in sight. I did say there would be happy ending, but fair warning we're gonna be trudging through A LOT of angst before we get there. After all, we still need to find a certain Black Paladin :D
> 
> Thanks for reading and i hope ya'll don't hate me for this angst fest. I guess my last fic was too fluffy and now I'm piling all the angst here lol. Hope you enjoyed this and stay tune to see what happens next :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery and revelations.

Piloting the Blue Lion while his vision is obscured by tears wasn’t something Lance thought he’d ever have to do. The screens in front of him were blurry and he wasn’t even trying to wipe the water falling from his eyes. He couldn’t focus on what he was doing, couldn’t think of anything else. He couldn’t only think of Keith, and how he failed him

Lance’s whole body was shaking from the sobs, his hands white knuckling the controls trying to get to safety. He had to get to safety. He promised he would.

The lion shuttered as a Galra ship exploded not too far from him. Lance grimaced and blinked away a few tears to see a large white ship rising from the planet’s surface. The Castle of Lions. Blue must have been taking over for him, because Lance was fairly certain he didn’t just dodge that cannon blast. And he was positive he didn’t just fire on that fighter heading towards them. Even with his mind in a different place, he wasn’t completely idiotic. Blue was definitely piloting herself.

Lance released the controls and sat back, not seeing the point of pretending to be in charge of this situation anymore. Or in any situation for that matter. The young prince brought his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs close. He buried his head in the crook of his elbow and let the tears fall freely, trusting Blue to get them to the castle.

His mind wouldn’t shut up. It kept replaying the scene over and over again. Kept reminding him of how he failed. Lance kept seeing Keith, felt his hair between his fingers, felt his body shake as he softly cried. Never in his life could he have imagined seeing Keith cry.

Strong Keith. Keith who didn’t even stop when there was a gaping hole in his side and his face was all bruised to hell. Keith who so rarely wore any of his emotions on his sleeve. Who he had made laugh and smile even despite that. Lance never thought he’d witness the Galra break down like that. See him look so small and afraid. So very afraid. And Lance left him there, again. Alone and afraid. A melancholy cry squeezed itself out of his lips.

The Blue Lion shuttered, slowing down. Lance didn’t look up to confirm this; it was more like he felt it. Like he someone was telling him what was happening around him while he cried. Perhaps it was Blue talking to him. Lance never understood what his father meant by a bond between a lion and its paladin. In the stories from his childhood, he remembered Alfor mentioning that bonds between the two ran so deep, one could call their lion to them from halfway across the galaxy. It was probably just a fib to make a little Lance pay more attention, but now he wasn’t so sure.

Blue slowed to a stop, landing in what Lance assumed was her hanger. He could practically see all four of Blue’s metal claws coming to rest on the ground. He could see and feel her lower her head and opened her jaw for him to exit the cockpit. But Lance wasn’t ready to leave just yet. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone what had happened.

His solitude didn’t last long as steps echoed off the ramp to the cockpit. The door behind his chair swooshed open and there was the pattering of footsteps. Lance didn’t move from his spot. Didn’t look up when a hand touched his shoulder. All he could do was cry.

The prince assumed it was Pidge judging by their small hands, but he really couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t bring his mind the present when all he could focus on was the past. Loosing Keith for the second time was trying. Watching as the Galra fell apart while trying so damn hard to keep it all together was practically unbearable. It hurt so much more than before.

Pidge shook him again, more fervently this time. She was talking to him, but Lance couldn’t figure out what she was saying. His mind was a muddled mess of sorrow and pain, making everything around him fuzzy. Suddenly she disappeared, her steps pounding on the metal floor.

Sometime later there were more steps, more vague voices coming from behind. A figure squeezed themselves in front of him, their back hitting the control panel as they knelt down. Warm hands gently moved up and down his arms in a familiar motion. Allura.

Lance sniffed, lifting his head slightly to look at his sister. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, with strands falling loose from all the excitement. She tenderly began wiping away his tears.

“…Lance? Are you… what happened?” She asked. She was choosing her words carefully, trying not to upset him anymore.

The prince closed his eyes, taking a quivering breathe. “K-Keith… I-I couldn’t…h-he…” his voice just didn’t want to cooperate.

Allura stiffened. “Oh Lance. Is he…?”

“No. He’s not d-dead.” Lance took a few deep breathes to steady himself. “I-I had him ‘lura. We were _so_ close… so close to escaping together. B-but that stupid _Lotor_.” His despair was accompanied by flare of incredible anger. Never in his life had Lance ever hated someone so passionately. He clung to Allura’s hand. “He made it so Keith can’t leave, Allura. If he tries, he’ll d-die.”

Images of Keith collapsing flooded his mind. His breathes coming in sharp gasps as his amber eyes flickered closed. Lance knew what it was like to fight for air. Knew how terrifying it was to suffocate. A shiver ran up his spine thinking of Keith going through the same agony. And he had a constant reminder of that fear latched around his throat.

Lance’s anger subsided and gave way to more tears. Allura didn’t press and more information out of him. She sat on the arm of his seat and pulled his head into her lap, stroking his hair in a soothing rhythm. After a few moments of this, Lance slipped his arms around her waist, pulling himself up to be wrapped in a full hug.

He couldn’t help but feel like a child again, crying into his big sister’s shoulder. Being both energetic and clumsy led to many scraped knees and torn clothes where after, his sister would scoop him up and calm him down. As they got older, Allura became the shoulder he cried on when he wasn’t feeling quiet so great. His feelings of inadequacy hampering his thoughts like a sickness every so often. Allura never asked too many questions during these moments. She simply comforted him, helped him ride out those feelings until they passed.

This moment felt so familiar that Lance began to slip back in to those fears. The fear that he wasn’t special. Wasn’t strong. Wasn’t anything important. After all, if he couldn’t even save Keith, what could he do?

Sure he was a paladin, but the title of honor did nothing to improve his self-image. If anything, it seemed to make him feel guilty that Blue chose him when there were so many other options. After all, if he couldn’t save person, how in the world was he going to save his own planet?

Lance wept into Allura’s shoulder, staining her shirt all the while. Allura held onto him tightly, trying to remain strong for her precious little brother who was slowly falling apart in her arms.

* * *

 Keith was left alone for a long time. Longer than any time before. He gave up counting, along with a few other things, but the growing pain in his belly was enough to track the time. In all honestly he didn’t mind that they weren’t feeding him. He didn’t care about much of anything anymore.

The cell was lit by the small window in the door, left open for an unknown reason. Maybe it was just to taunt him. Letting him hear the guards roam about, see the hall that led to freedom just out of reach. They could have left the cell door open and Keith still would have felt hopelessly trapped. One small level of comfort was the thin metal bars that had been placed on the window. They were spaced close enough together that he couldn’t fit his arm through anymore. Even if it was just a small act, it proved that they still viewed him as somewhat of a threat. It was a satisfying feeling, even though he really couldn’t do much.

Keith clutched his stomach as a particularly loud grumble broke the silence. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. Any moisture he had was long ago cried out and now he was left with the uncomfortable feeling of an empty stomach and a parched tongue. So much for all his training. A few more days of this and he would bend easily to Haggar’s whims. That is, if he knew what the witch wanted in the first place.

Sitting against the far end of the cell, Keith noted the sound of footsteps. It had become a common thing to hear now that the window was open, but these sounded far more hesitant then most. His mind made the connection long before Thace opened the door.

His expression unreadable as ever, the commander closed the door and knelt by his side.

“Lance make it out okay?” Keith asked immediately as a single water pack was shoved in his hand.

Thace nodded, glancing at the door all the while. He pulled a half crushed looking protein supplement from his pocket and handed it over. It crumbled when he opened it, the bar broken in multiple places. It must have been sitting his pocket for a while to get that. What with the older Galra looking back and forth at the door, Keith began to worry.

“Are you being watched?” He looked to Thace for some sort of reaction but received none, as usual.

“No, but you are.”

That didn’t come as too much of a surprise. “More than I was before?”

“Yes. After your escape attempt you’ve be put on near constant surveillance.”

“Then how did you get in here?”

“ _Near constant_.” He repeated. “There are gaps. Wide enough to slip through undetected.”

Keith scarfed down the meager amount of food before washing it down with the rest of the water. He half hoped that Thace had more on him, but it looked like this was all he was going to get for now. It only just quieted his rumbling stomach. Keith continued his round of questioning.

“How did you even get here without being seen?”

“We have our ways.” Thace’s answer quick, like an automatic response.

“We?” Keith sat up, his ears perking up for the first time in days. “What do you mean by ‘we’?”

Thace grabbed the wrappers from his hand and stuffed them in his pockets and stood. “I can’t tell you that. Not now.”

“Thace-“

“You will get your answers, Keith. But this is a dangerous place for revelations. Especially when you’re in constant contact with Haggar. The witch had more power than you realize.”

Thace went to the door and leaned out of the way as a guard passed the window. Keith couldn’t seem to hold his tongue any longer.

“Why are you helping me?” His voice had gained some strength back after the water. He pushed himself up, willing his legs to stop trembling. “You helped me when I was wounded, fed me twice now, and you helped Lance escape when I couldn’t. So _why?_ Why are you risking yourself like this for me? And don’t you dare say I’ll find out later. I want to know now. I _deserve_ to know now especially after everything that’s happened.”

The first bit of emotion slipped through Thace’s stern guise. It looked almost like regret but it was gone so quickly that Keith wasn’t sure he saw anything at all. The commander shook his head, the door behind him sliding open.

“Not yet, Keith. You can’t know yet.” Thace stepped out and the door shut behind him, leaving Keith stewing in frustration.

 It was bad enough knowing that there was no way for him to leave, but now the one person he had on this stupid ship was adamantly refusing to give him any sort of hope to hold on to. It didn’t make any sense to protect someone then refuse to tell them why they were worth protecting. However Thace did give him something to hold on to. Even if it might have been slipped out by mistake. He said ‘we’, as in a group. That meant that there were more Galra out there like himself, like Thace, who didn’t completely follow Zarkon’s rule. It wasn’t much to hold onto, but it was the only thing he had. After seeing and loosing Lance again… well, he really didn’t think he’d find anything else to hope for.

Keith lowered himself back to the floor, his hunger and thirst only barely satisfied. At least those two things were faring better than curiosity.

He drifted off into sleep, his prince flitting in and out of his dreams but always just out of reach. Every time his dream-self went to chase after him, Lance would run off and disappear into the void. Just like in real life, the prince was always just out of reach.

A harsh bang woke him and Keith was greeted with the sight of his cell door open with four guards standing at the ready. Among them was Plydo, a snarl on his face and the hint of a bruise half hidden under his helmet’s visor. A deep feeling of satisfaction whirled in his belly.

Keith was hoisted to his feet, wrists bound and weapons angled in his direction. A harsh jab in his back forced him to walk forward, down the familiar path to the room where Haggar was waiting. The guard behind him (Plydo most likely) kept hitting him in the back, right between his shoulder blades. What would have originally driven his temper through the roof at one point only left him mildly annoyed. Most his will to fight left him when he had to watch Lance leave him behind once again.

The room was the same. Dark and foreboding with a single chair sitting in the center. Haggar grinned while he was strapped down, her eyes glowing.

“Good.” Her gravelly voice never failed to unnerve him. “The Emperor would have been furious if you had managed to escape. It seems Prince Lotor still has a few good ideas in that selfish brain of his.”

So Haggar and the others knew of the ring that rested beneath his shirt collar. Lotor was probably gloating to anyone with ears that his plan managed to keep the young Galra trapped here. Keith didn’t say anything. He just sat there and waited, his glare falling far short of being intimidating.

“Now that you’ve had some time to lament, let’s see if we can make some progress.” With that, the session began.

Everything felt different. Haggar’s magic had a different sort of sting to it as it made contact with his body. His whole being tensed under it, but the pain didn’t extend to any of his limbs like before. Instead it seemed to dive straight into his chest and into his head, causing his vision to fade in and out. Keith grit his teeth, trying to get used to this new sensation while staying conscious all at the same time.

The witches smile only grew with each blast of her magic which made Keith panic. He tried to resist, recounting the strength he had before when he was somehow able to stall progress, making her angry and frustrated all the while. He remembered feeling a little proud when she left early, an unsatisfied look etched on her face.

Whatever he did then, whatever power he had to resist was gone. It left along with his hope at ever seeing Lance again. Of ever holding him again and breathing in his wonderful scent. Keith tried to let the memories of the prince strengthen him, but it only made the hole in his chest ache.

Keith lost count of how long he was under Haggar’s thumb. If felt longer than usual, but that could just be because it had been a while. Haggar finished with a wide smile on her face that looked so out of place it sent a cold shiver up his spine. Keith’s head was spinning and his chest felt like he had the entire weight of the Galra flagship pressing down on him. Usually after his sessions Keith would be left feeling weak. His limbs heavy and body sore. Today however, he felt like he was going to vomit what little sustenance he had in his belly.

Instead of leaving him in the chair, the guards returned and uncuffed him. Before he could move to stand, the young Galra grew dizzy and quickly fell unconscious.

The hazy dreams he once been accustom too sprang forward with a newfound intensity. The images strikingly realistic as if he were physically thrown into the scene. Rain trickled down on his shoulders, his bare feet cold and completely soaked as he stood in a dirty puddle. The clothes he wore were thin, his pants torn at the knee. They reminded Keith of something he had when he young. The feel of the rough fabric against his fur putting him back in a time before his mother left. Of maybe, that’s exactly where he was. Stuck in a memory of a time long ago. He snorted at the thought. This was a dream, images that Haggar was forcing into his mind for some unknown reason.

_It’s just a dream._

Keith looked up and saw a hint of the dark grey sky peaking between the edges of various rooftops. All around were towering buildings. Looking at them for a while longer, Keith remembered that they were houses. Tall and rough looking, with brick and sheets of metal making up the walls around him.

_Remember…? Why do I have a memory of this place? This is a dream. It’s not real._

Speaking of walls, the houses around him were incredibly close. If his stretched out his arms, the tips his fingers would just be able to graze each side. Keith did just that, stretching out his short arms as far as they could go. Curious he brought his hands up to his face and realized that they were much smaller than they should have been. They were the hands of a child and looking down at himself, he realized he himself was a child again.

_Strange…_

What should have been a more startling discovery only slightly surprised him. After all, this was a dream. Strange things happened in dreams all the time. Suddenly shrinking down to childhood wasn’t the weirdest thing his mind had thrown at him while asleep. However, he couldn’t see the point in it all.

The pattering of rain on the rooftops wasn’t enough to distract him from the voices creeping up behind him. Voices that made his big ears quiver and the fur on his arm stand straight up. Desperate to get away, Keith turned and began to run. His bare feet stinging every time they collided with the wet stone ground. He ran away from the voices, sounding eerily familiar the more he listened.

The alley came to an abrupt end ahead of him, a solid wall trapping him. Well, it wasn’t completely solid. Near the bottom was a storm drain with a set of rusted bars covering the entrance. Keith slide to a stop, his little hands wrapping around the bars and pulling. He couldn’t remember why he was running and who from, but whoever they were aimed to hurt him. That much he did know.

He pulled and pulled and if he were his normal size it might have moved. But in this dream he was just a child. A weak little child.

The voices behind him grew louder causing the terror in his chest to rise. Little Keith frantically looked around for another means of escape. He leaned heavily on the bars behind him, the sound of water rushing down the drain echoing loudly. Keith curled in on himself, ears pulled to the side as he tried to make himself smaller. The cold rain water soaked his pants as he sat. Shivers running up and down his small frame from the cold.

_It’s just a dream… this fear- this cold isn’t real… just a dream…_

A crack of lighting, followed by the loud rumble of thunder and Keith pressed himself against the bars as much as he could. A jarring screech behind him and then of the bars fell loose. Leaning most of his weight on it, Little Keith fell back into the storm drain. Tumbling down a slick angled surface, scrambling for something to grab onto. Something to stop him from falling. There was nothing. Nothing to save him. Little Keith was falling down… down… down… down… down… down… down…

Splat.

_“-eith? Keith! Wa-e up-“_

Little Keith landed in a pool of water at the bottom of the storm drain. While it did break his fall, it wasn’t deep enough for him to come out unscathed. His hip slammed in the bottom of the pool with the side of his head following shortly after. Keith cried out in pain, but only ended up swallowing a lung full of water.

He pushed himself up, his left hip throbbing as he put weight on his leg. His first gulp of air was tainted with an unpleasant smell that made the throbbing in his head worse. Thankfully the water wasn’t deep enough that he had to swim, but his landing made it hard to stand. Keith awkwardly made his way to a ledge and lifted himself out. The cold soaking through all the way to his bones.

_“-don’t g- down there. Don’t follow—just wake up…”_

He was in the sewers. The miles and miles of tunnels that ran underneath the sprawling city. Weaving their way all the way to the center district and far out to the less wealthy ones. Him and his mother lived somewhere in the middle. Between prosperity and poor. From what his mother used to say, it was better that way. It left them with enough food in his belly to be satisfied and an understanding of the hard work it took to fill his plate. His mother tried to ensure her young son understood the value of things. 

The heavy smell in the air would probably be the same no matter which end of the economical spectrum he was on. Wealthy city streets or crowded slums, sewers were sewers and would sink either way.

Keith rolled onto his back and looked up. There was only the barest hint of light coming from a spot high above. Water was falling in from various other storm drains, crashing into the pool much like he just had. Some much higher than the one he fell out of. The water didn’t stop in this pool. In fact, it kept going down. The shallow pool he fell into filtered off into three wide tunnels that were darker than any nightmare he’d ever been stuck in. Being only half Galra, his vision wasn’t perfect in the dark like many others.

_Half Galra…  only half. It’s no wonder I’m so weak._

This wasn’t news to him. Keith had known for a long time that he wasn’t fully Galra. One look in the mirror told him that. His mother never confirmed anything, always saying that it didn’t matter either way. But he knew. Just like he knew all those dirty looks and sneers that she handled with grace were because of him. Because she had a half breed son. And here he thought he’d gotten over all those feelings years ago.

Keith’s dream filtered out for a few seconds before coming back into full clarity. That small recollection momentarily bringing him back to his senses. However, his little dream-self kept moving. Little Keith pushed himself up, the pain shooting to his hip once again. He winced, placing a hand there for a moment before focusing on finding a way out.

_“You need to wake up.”_

There was a ladder behind him. The rungs were dark and half covered in a slick looking slime. He looked up and squinted in the darkness. The ladder led to an opening about halfway up the wall. It was probably a maintenance tunnel which meant a way out.

Little Keith grabbed onto the rungs, pushing himself up carefully. At least, he tried to. Keith had his hand on the ladder, but his attention was elsewhere. Drawn to one of the tunnels so dark it seemed as if there were nothing there at all. But for some reason he couldn’t look away. There was a warmth that radiated from that tunnel. A feeling that spread from the tip of his ears down to his numb little toes. Something was down there. Something he wanted to find.

Without really thinking, Keith let go of the ladder and limped over to the tunnel. The closer he got he began to notice a soft red glow at the bottom of the tunnel. It was so dim, more likely that it was a trick of the eye than anything else, but Keith knew that wasn’t true. He knew that something was calling out to him.

There was no walkway in this tunnel. No way down other than jumping in the stream of water and letting it carry him down. Keith turned back for a moment and look to the ladder that would very well lead him to safety. He couldn’t seem to ignore this tugging in his head. Keith took a deep breath and jumped.

_“Sorry-“_

There was a slight sting on his neck that he had to the urge to itch. The few moments that passed were fine, and then it felt like he was about to vibrate out of his skin.

Keith was shot back into reality, his dream disappearing as suddenly as a flame blown out by a storm. He was lying on floor, his arms stretched out beside him and shaking wildly. His heart was pounding in his ears, his breathing more akin to gasping and his head was spiraling out of control. There was a heavy pressure on his legs, a figure moving above him. Keith tried to focus but his mind was a loose wire sparking in a shallow pool. Everything was just too much.

There was a firm voice prattling above him, saying what, he wasn’t too sure. After a moment, a hand came up under his jaw and held his head to the side. Keith squirmed under the pressure but a few moments later he felt the whirling energy in him begin to calm. He sluggishly became aware of a needle poking into the meat of his neck, but he didn’t much care. Whatever was happening now was far better than the mess of energy he was before.

“Keith? Keith… talk to me…”

The young Galra flinched as the needle was pulled out. He groaned, rolling his head from side to side as he tried to get a hold on the situation.

“Come on, little one… you’re alright… you’re alright…”

Keith felt like a tightly wound spring that was finally being unraveled. The walls of his cell began to come into focus. The feel of the cold metal seeping in through his clothes. Thace was above him, looking down at him with unmistakable worry in his eyes. The expression was so strange on the usually stone faced commander that for a moment Keith wondered if he was still stuck in some dream.

“Th-Thace? Wha- what happened?” He pushed himself up to lean against the wall, the older Galra helping him all the way.

He grimaced as he spoke. “Haggar happened. It seems her magic has finally taken hold.”

Keith groaned. He knew something was different from the last time he saw the witch. It seems like he was just as weak minded as he feared he was. Thace offered some water and Keith readily drank it while he explained a little of what happened.

“You were unconscious for three days, and it would have been longer if I wasn’t able to check on you.” Thace looked like he was trying to regain his composer, but he was still eyeing Keith was a strange sense of protectiveness that was unfamiliar. He continued. “I couldn’t get you to wake, so I gave you a small shot of hyscelin to shock your system and wake you.”

So that was the jolt he felt. Hyscelin was a potent drug used for extreme medical emergencies. Like trying to keep a heart beating when compressions weren’t enough. It tears through the body, spiking adrenaline setting your pulse on a rapid ride. But to a normal, not medically endangered individual, it could very well be fatal. Pushing your heart too hard until it gave up. It was a drug that could save lives and also take them. Whatever was in the second injection must have counteracted the drug.

Thace pulled out a few food packs. Actual food packs and not the tasteless protein blocks he’d been fed over the past however long. Keith ripped one open and sighed contently as he munched on the dried food. It was typically military stuff, but to Keith it tasted like the fine cuisines he was treated to on Altea.

“Keith.” Thace had regained his tougher expression, his tone serious. “You cannot, under any circumstances let Haggar’s magic get a hold on you like that again. If she does, you’ll be leading her to exactly what she wants-“

“So?” Keith grits out. The last taste of food turned sour on his tongue. “So what if she gets what she wants? It’s not like I have much hope of getting out of here. Even if I did fight, if I did resist, there’s only so long a person can hold out before they break. And I… I’m just tired. I… I don’t want to fight anymore when there’s no reason too. When I don’t have someone to fight _for_ …”

Because really, who else did he stay strong for? Not for himself. No, Keith had never thought much of himself. He always fought for others. Whether it was by choice or because he had too, he fought to be strong for someone besides himself. He was strong for his mother, He fought hard in his trials, proving to the Galra that trained him he was worthy to be a solider.

He fought for Lance. For the prince who turned his bleak world into one blazing with light. In his time here, he stayed strong purely for Lance. He made a promise to the prince to stay alive, to wait until he came to rescue him. Well, Lance had come. The light was back. And then it fell through his finger like freezing water. And even though he made the same promise, even though Lance swore to come back, Keith knew it could never happen. And if it did, if his prince did try to come back to save him, the darkness was sure to sink its claws into his light and drag it into the abyss.

It was hopeless. And if it was hopeless, then why should he even bother trying?

A familiar frown pulled at the corner of Thace’s mouth, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “So. Just like that, you’re giving up.”

It wasn’t a question. Just a fact. Keith looked down and torn open another food pack and began to nibble on the corner.

“You may think this is only about you. That the only one who will suffer if Haggar succeeds if you. But Keith, they whole universe will be in grave danger if you give up.”

“Why?” Keith nearly shouts. “Why do you make it seem like I’m that important? I’m just- just _me_ … I’m not even a real Galra. I don’t know _what_ I am-“

“You are Keith. You are your mother’s son. You are what gives Prince Lance courage.  And…” he looked down, whatever he was going to say next sitting on the tip of his tongue. After a moment, Thace took a shallow breath and gaze back up at Keith. “You are my nephew. And I will not let a member of my family give up without a fight.”

“I-I’m… wait, what?”

Thace sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Your mother, Lira, she was my sister.”

“ _Was_?” he croaked. Never once had he thought if her mother was alive or not. Really, it was something better left undiscovered. For if she was alive then he’d be faced with the idea that his own family had left him behind. If she was dead… well he didn’t want to think of that either.

“Was. Is. I’m not sure which it correct if I’m being honest.” His attention went to the door where he hurriedly ducked to avoid being seen by a passing guard. He turned back to Keith and spoke quickly. “I don’t have time to answer your questions now, but I will be back. If I’m not back before you are taken to Haggar again, whatever you do don’t give in. Don’t fall back into those dreams no matter what.”

“B-but Thace… how can I? How can I resist when I’m- when I’m so weak?”

“You are not weak Keith. Find you strength again, little one. I know it’s in you.” And then, Thace smiled. It was small, barley a trace, but it was more than enough. It reminded Keith so much of his mother.

Footsteps coming closer; another guard. Thace ducked below the window as they passed. As soon as they had gone, he quickly picked up whatever trash Keith had haphazardly dropped while he ate.

“I will be back when I can.” Thace assured.

“Thace I-“ Keith wasn’t sure what to say. Here was a piece of his family actually standing in front of him; helping him in his darkest hour. Being clueless as to what to do, he took a page from Lance’s book. Keith pushed himself up and strode over to Thace, pulling his uncle into a tight embrace. The latter stiffened at first, awkwardly patting his shoulder. “Thank you… uncle.”

At that, Thace relaxed pulling his little nephew closer.

The moment could only last so long before Thace had to leave yet again. But this time when the door closed, Keith didn’t feel so alone anymore. Yes his hopes of getting out of this place were still extremely low, but at least he had someone here to lean on.

* * *

 

Walking through the Castle of Lions was like waking through a strange dream. His feet carried him down familiar paths, but everything around him was completely different.

The once porcelain white walls were gone and in their place were sleek metal panels. The tapestries and paintings that covered the walls were gone and Lance had no idea where they were. He had a fear that Zarkon destroyed them after he took the castle. After all, what use would the Galra Emperor have for a bunch of portraits of the pas Altean royals? Kindling for a fire, that’s what.

Lance turned down a hall that should have led to his bed room, but was met with a wall instead. Looks like this castle didn’t include that little piece of home. The young prince ran his hand along the wall, marveling at the whole idea that this was his home. As foreign as it looked now, this was where he grew up. This was where he took his first steps. Where his mother would read to him. Where his father made shadow puppets before bedtime. Where he’d brush Allura’s hair and listen to her talk. This was home, and it couldn’t have felt more different.

Spinning on his heel, Lance retraced his steps. Coran had explained how the castle changed from its original form to this ship, but honestly Lance didn’t care. Maybe if things had in fact gone to plan, he’d be more amazed. But he was still stuck in a time loop; unwillingly playing those last moments in his head. If only he could turn off his stupid mind for a while.

Absently, he rubbed the back of his hand where Keith had pressed those kisses. He could still feel the soft brush of those lips.

“ _Lance?”_ Allura’s voice rang over the coms, echoing against the tall ceiling. _“Could you come to bridge? Coran has something he wants to show us.”_

“On my way.” He sighed. Coran had been running around this place showing them things for a solid week. Running around like a child and gushing about a new feature or a new room. And while Lance could appreciate his excitement, he could also see the motivation behind it. Coran was trying to distract the young prince. To make him feel better. Lance appreciated what he was trying to do, but felt like it was wasted effort. He needed to work through his on his own.

The bridge was one of the more jarring changing that the castle underwent. What had once been his father’s meeting room was now incredibly impressive control room. The whole back wall was gone and instead revealed a large view screen. The table at the center was gone. Instead there was a raised platform where the ship could be steered. There were five seat around this platform, all of them with their own screen which could be accessed with ease. Lance assumed the paladins would sit there, once they found the rest of them that is.

Lance strode in, Pidge and Hun already there. Pidge was eyeing the control panel on the opposite side of the wall with a curious eye. She’d already walked the castle up and down twice, investigating the place and commenting on all the advance technology. Hunk on the other hand had been mutter something along the line of ‘were on an alien ship’ for the better part of their trip. He seemed to have relaxed thought since Lance last saw him. Just a bit.

Coran noticed Lance and immediately put on a smile. “Ah, there you are prince. I suppose we can get started now.”

Allura looked at him curiously. “Started on what, exactly?”

“We can start looking for the other lions. I recently finished running the diagnostic’s and the ship is in tip top shape.”

“So, how exactly do we find the other lions? Lay out some space cat nip?” Pidge smirked. Lance didn’t know what ‘cat nip’ was but it seemed that Hunk did. He chucked, nudging the small girls shoulder.

“Actually, the princess is going to help with that.” Coran answered.

Allura jumped. “What? Me? But what can I do?”

“As the first born heir to the throne, there are many things your father had entrusted to you. And while he didn’t have a chance to tell you about Voltron, he did ensure that you would be able to locate the lions if the need ever arrived.”

The young prince was frowning, not understanding what Coran was telling them.  “What do you mean? How can ‘lura find the lions? She didn’t even know about them till recently.”

With a smile, Coran took the princesses hand and led her to the raised platform. She stepped, confusion written all over her features. “The lions’ are linked to your life force, Allura. Just like they were linked to your father. It’s a responsibility that all the Kings and Queens of Altea are given. During your training, your father found that your bond with the lions was a natural to you as breathing. You may not have noticed it, but trust me. It’s there.”

Two control pillars rose from the floor. Allura stared at them a little hesitantly before glancing at Coran. The advisor nodded, encouraging her. With her hands trembling slightly, Allura place her hands on the pillars.

A pale light shone down on her, her eyes closed in concentration. In the room, the screens darken, the light dimmed until a large star map burst forward. The holo projected displayed the stars all around them, making it seem like they were floating in the stars. Hunk scooted towards Lance, making the prince crack a smile at his friends slight panic.

The stars were moving slowly around them. Some constellations he recognized and some he only knew from his studies. Allura let out a tiny gasp.

“I… I can feel them. Coran I know where they are.” She sounded both amazed and delighted. He eyes opened quickly, another revelation crossing her face. “The paladins…”

“What about them?” Pidge asked. “Can you find them too?”

Allura shook her head. “No… but I can figure out who they might be.”

“Uhh, how?” Hunk leaned forward, curious but still a little nervous.

“Quintessence.”

“Quin-what now?”

The Princess smiled. “Quintessence. All living things have it. Think of it like an energy, your life force, your soul. It’s an essential part of what makes each individual life so different. The lions also have their own unique quintessence that I can now feel. Looking at the Blue Lion and Lance… well, the two are identical. It’s no wonder you became her paladin.”

“Wait, what?” Lance sputtered. “You mean… me and Blue are the same?”

“In simple terms, yes.” She nodded.

“But how can you see my quintessence. Wait, are you _actually_ magical?”

Allura tapped her finger against her lip, thinking. “I don’t think I’m magical, that’s just silly. But I guess I have always been a little more sensitive to things around me. And when I concentrate, I have always been able to feel things…”

“I can’t believe my sister has magical powers.”

“ _Lance_.”

A loud groan from Pidge cut them both off. The little human had pinched his nose, pushing up her glasses to her bushy hair. “Getting back on track, think you can figure out who the other four paladins are?”

Allura turned her attention back to the star map and began dragging it to a green point the map. “I know two humans who fit with the lions.”

A look of utter surprise passed Pidges face while Hunk’s jaw was practically on the floor. “U-us?” the big guy stammered. “You want us to be paladins??”

“The both of you match perfectly with two of the lions. It’s an amazing stroke of luck that we crashed on your planet.”

“Uhh I don’t know about this…”

“This is awesome!” Pidge exclaimed. “I always wanted to be a pilot.”

Allura smiled at them, clearly happy that they were making progress. Lance however had a lump in his throat that refused to go down. While the two humans began weighting the pros and cons about being defenders of the universe, Lance slowly backed out of the room. Coran had told them everything important and he really didn’t feel needed anymore. He didn’t really feel needed at all.

Lance always knew what being second born meant. Never have to take the throne, never have the same responsibility, never be anything other than extra face at parties. He knew that he was different from his sister. That he’d never know the burdens she’d have to bear. But he never expected this.

His father had made sure that if anything bad had happened, Allura would be able to find Voltron and save the universe. But Lance? If he hadn’t been chosen as the Blue Paladin, what would he have done? His father didn’t leave him with a job to do, with a purpose. Allura had her purpose, and she had the skills needed to do the job. What did Lance have? Without Blue, what would he be?  He feared the answer more than he realized.

* * *

 

Time had passed and the cells around him were beginning to fill. Keith could hear every whine and groan from his open window with annoying clarity. Granted, if they closed the window he still would have heard everything, but least it would have been muffled enough for him to ignore it. At this moment, he was bound to go made with all the ruckus.

He’d been fed twice and given water four times by the guard, all of it spaced unevenly. It seemed like they payed attention to him randomly instead of being on a schedule. It was aggravating and made it near impossible to anticipate when he’d get fed next. So he took Thace’s first advice and rationed it. Making it last as long as he could.

Speaking of Thace, his newly dubbed uncle hadn’t returned. Keith couldn’t help but feel nervous at his absence. His worst fears being that he was caught sneaking out of Keith’s cell the last time. If he was, Keith had a feeling that his captures would rub it in his face, trying to lower his waning moral even more. No, Thace was okay. He had to be. But still, Keith worried.

After the last of his water ran out, his cell was opened. Instead of being taken out, someone was thrown in. The figure grunted as they hit the floor, limbs moving sluggishly as they tried to push themselves up. From the look of things, he was teetering on consciousness.  

The guard sneered at Keith. “Brought you a little company, traitor. Don’t grown too attached. Probably won’t last long.”

For a brief moment Keith thought about lunging at the smug Galra. But then what would he do? Try to escape? That was impossible with the ring around neck ready to choke him to death. Biting down his instincts, Keith simply glared back and kept to his corner. The cell shut on the cackling guards.

Keith watched the person he was now stuck with. He recognized the clothes he was wearing. It was the stuff the fighters in the gladiator arena were forced to wear. The arena used be where Galra competed in tournaments to prove their worth and earn pride. Those traditions fell to the wayside in favor of blood and gore and other morbid form of entertainment. Traitors and criminals from the empire were forced to fight to the death and now it seems they’ve branched out to other species as well. For how long, Keith had no idea.

He watched from his corner, unsure if he should go and help the struggling figure across from him. Actually, he wondered if they would accept his help. After all, he did look like the species that was keeping them all prisoners.

The figure groaned and finally pushed themselves up to a sitting position. One glace at Keith and the prisoner flinched.

“You’re one of them…” He tensed, his voice taking on a harsh tone. “Is this another trick?”

Keith sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. “Not a trick. You’re just paranoid.”

“I have good reason to be.” He shot back. Looking at him, he looked a little like an Altean. But unlike them, his ears were rounded and skin free of any markings, minus the large gash that span across the bridge of his nose. That along with the few healing scars peaking from around his tattered clothes could only be from the gladiator fights. Keith wondered how a species as unimpressive as him could have survived so long.

Keith didn’t bother responding and shut his eyes. The new arrival was still for a moment and then he pushed himself up and began moving. Keith’s sensitive hearing could pick up his every movement, even when he placed his hands on the door. Most likely, he was looking for a way out. Too bad he wasn’t going to find one.

They stayed like that for a while, not talking just existing. After a while, his cellmate seemed to give into his curiosity.

“Why are you in here?” His voice shattered the silence Keith had grown accustom to. He cracked open one eye and glared.

“Because I am.” He answered.

“Are you… are you like them?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t be in here.”

The other prisoner paused, his eyes narrowing. “How do I know I can believe you?”

Keith groaned. He really didn’t feel like trying to convince this person to trust him. After all, odds were neither of them was going to survive this.

“You don’t. And I’m not going to try and convince you to. I have other things to concentrate on.” He didn’t get a response after that.

More time passed and they only got fed once. Not only that, but it was the same amount of rations that Keith normally got by himself. Keith stares at the meager supply, his cellmate doing the same. He shrugged, going back to his corner and pulling out the last bit food he had stashed and munching on it. His cellmate hesitantly went for the food and water, doing well not to consume it all despite his grumbling stomach.

They seemed to come to an odd sort of comradery. Neither spoke, not since that first conversation, but Keith couldn’t help but find the other person’s presence comforting. Especially since Thace still hadn’t come back.

Things changed when the door to their cell opened once again. His cellmate jumped up, looking fierce and strong despite everything he’d clearly been through. Keith stayed his corner, knowing full well what time it was.

The guards pointed their weapons at the two of the, commanding them to stay where they were. One of them strode over to Keith yanked him up by his hair. The young Galra grimaced, determined not to let any noise pass his lips. Cuffs were clamped onto his wrist and he was shoved forward.

“Where are you taking him?!” the prisoner practically shouted.

“Stay where you are.” A guard edged closer, lifting his blaster higher on the prisoner’s chest. Keith noticed the slight worry in his cellmates’ eye. He tried to convey a confident look, something that might suggest he was going to be alright. But Keith truly feared that he was going to fall into another vivid dream. Without Thace to wake him up, he was terrified that he was going to become lost in his own mind.

The guards pushed him along, the door closing and drowning out another protest from his companion. Keith tried to walk tall.

Inside the room, firmly strapped down yet again, Haggar began her work. Keith practically rejoiced when her magic radiated throughout his limbs instead of plunging straight into his chest and head. it was back to the way it was before, which hopefully meant no more crazy vivid dreams of a child version of himself. Of course that also meant he had to endure an incredible amount of pain to ensure that didn’t happened.

His voice had become a raspy imitation of what it once was by the time she was finished. A clear look of annoyance in her eyes. She loomed closer, her robes billowing around her as she seemed to glide across the floor.

“Such insolence. And here we were finally making good progress.” A sharp claw traced his jaw, nearly hard enough to make him bleed. “Your resolve won’t last long. After all, I’ve already seen it fall once.”

That made him flinch. Out of regret more than anything else.

The cuff retracted back into the chair and Keith was dragged from his seat. He couldn’t remember if Haggar magic always left him feeling this weak. His mind was too muddled with pain to remember any time before. The path back to the cell block was hazy at best, but the sound of the now full cells around him made his head ache even more.

His cell was opened and Keith was tossed inside like a piece of trash. He landed on his stomach, his breath forced out of him in a rush. He coughed, curling in on himself and trying to ride out the pain that radiated though him like a beacon.

Muffled voices were hovering above him and for a moment Keith feared that he was falling back into the dream. He forced his eyes open and saw that it was his cellmate. Yelling and causing a scene, fighting with guards who’d harshly tossed him in. Keith winced as the end of a blaster was shoved into his cellmate’s stomach, forcing him back. The door closed and the two were left alone.

Keith closed his eyes, exhaustions pulling down his eyelids and slowing his breathing. Sleeping after Haggar’s sessions were scary, but holy quiznak… sleep sounded so good. Keith began to give in, pulling away from reality and succumbing to sleep.

“Are you alright?” That voice instantly pulled him back up again. Keith huffed, cracking his eyes open and glaring at his cellmate.

“ ‘m fine. Just… hurt.” He mumbled through a sore throat.

“What did they do to you?” He was probably asking for his own self. Trying to find out if he was going to be subjected to the same treatment as Keith.

“Stuff.” He couldn’t help be notice the unrelenting look in the other’s eye. He was proving far more persistent than before. “Been here a while. It’s happened before. I’ll be fine.”

“How long?”

“Mmhm?”

“How long have you been here?”

Keith thought, really thought. It had to have been a month by now. Maybe two? Definitely not as long as a year.  Time was really slipping away from him.

“Not sure.” He finally managed. “ ‘s been a while, though.”

His cellmate nodded, accepting his answer. He sat next to Keith, a look of concerned plastered on his face the whole while. They had had barely spoken this entire time and yet this guy was fretting over him like they were brothers or something. But still, if he didn’t have Thace to watch over him at the moment, this guy would do.

“What’s your name?” he asked after a while. The young Galra had rolled onto his back by now, the pain his arms and legs receding. He through a quizzical look at his cellmate before answering.

“Keith. Yours?”

“Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked Thace. A lot. Before season two, i was fully convinced that he was going to be Keith's dad. But I'll settle for cool uncle. Sorry if there are typos and other mistakes. Honestly didn't try to hard editing myself cause I'm just to eager to get this shit posted lol. One day I'll have a beta reader. One day. 
> 
> As always thanks for reading, commenting and kudos! It really makes my day and I love talking to you guys :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thace finally takes the time to tell Keith everything. (And other things... i'm getting bad at coming up with summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO I GOT A BETA READER. Thank you to the wonderful [annalyia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia) for helping out!
> 
> ONWARD

“Your planet is called _Earth_? That’s a weird name.” Keith crossed his arms, trying to imagine the blue and green planet his cellmate described.

Shiro smirked. “Says the purple alien who has a name like ‘Keith’.”

“I said it’s a nickname. And what’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, nothing just not what I’d expect.”

Keith’s lips turned into a half smile. Having another being in his cell did more for his mental health then he could have guessed. Not only that, but he was lucky enough for that person to be Shiro. Despite his situation, the human seemed to trust Keith fairly quickly after his first bout of hesitation. Part of that might have been pity points seeing how weak he was after spending a few hours with Haggar, but Keith was going to take any hint of kindness he could get at this point.

“What about your planet? Where do the Galra come from?” Shiro asked. He was sitting at the wall opposite of Keith, leaning against it in the same casual way the young Galra was.

“Our planet was called Galera. I can guarantee that it was nothing like your planet.”

“Was?” Shiro’s tone was laced with uncertainty.

Keith nodded. “My planet was destroyed because of our own stupidity.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, but really you don’t have to be.” He appreciated the sincerity.

It was quiet for a few moments. Shiro seemed to be mulling things over, glancing at Keith every so often before he finally decided to speak.

“So what’s your story, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“My story…?” Keith felt his ears twitch, dropping down a bit with his gaze. “Why do you want to know?”

“I guess…” Shiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I guess I’m just curious. I spent a long time in the arena, fighting all sort of beings I never dreamed existed. So many faces that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. But in all that time, I never saw another Galra like you. One who was a prisoner like the rest of us. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind. Telling you, that is. It’s just — “ Keith leaned his head back and took a deep breath. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“Well, we don’t have anything but time,” Shiro joked halfheartedly. He had a point there.

A huff of laughter passed Keith’s lips and for a while, that was all they did. Oddly enough, he trusted Shiro. There was something about his kind eyes and strong frame that made Keith feel safe. Like he could lean on him in times of trouble without the fear of being turned away or of facing judgment. The human spoke to him like an equal. Like Lance did. While he did show some distrust when they first met, after they spoke to one another Shiro didn’t look at him and see a Galra. He saw Keith, and there were only a handful of people in the entire universe who did that.

Shiro seemed to take Keith’s silence as a refusal; a way of saying he didn’t want to share his story. He nodded, crossing his legs and staring down at his scarred hands before started speaking.

“Before I was taken, my team and I were the first of our kind to explore the further most point in our solar system.”

Keith looked up, realizing that Shiro was telling him his story. A story that he had speculated about ever since he noticed the gladiator prison uniform. Keith sat up, angling his ears so that he could listen to every detail of Shiro’s story.

“We traveled to Kerberos, a moon of a planet called Pluto. We were there for research. During one of our excavations, a ship suddenly appeared behind us. We were captured, taken aboard, and brought before a commander named Sendek.”

“I’ve heard of him,” Keith piped up. His face dropped to a grimace a few moments later. “Even by our standards, he’s cruel.”

“Well, I can confirm that.” There was a ghost of a smile on his face, more there to dissuade from all the horrible implications Keith could draw from that one statement. Although he had never served under Sendek personally, those who did spoke of his strength and brashness. His control over his troops was second only to Zarkon himself, along with the fear he inspired.

Shiro took a few breaths, his hands now shaking. “For a while, we were just stuck on that ship, interrogated for hours on end. They wanted to know about earth, our technology and our strengths. I think they were trying to figure out if my planet was a threat to them, but I can say without a doubt you guys have incredible technology. We have nothing like this back on earth.”

Keith frowned, wondering how such a primitive species was able to get as far as they had. Earth and its inhabitants were sounding less and less impressive by the second.

“After a while, I think they got sick of us. Sam, the oldest of us was sent to a work camp somewhere. Matt and I were sent to the arena. And Matt… he was so scared. He was a scientist, a brilliant one. He barely had any hand to hand combat training back at the Garrison and no weapon training whatsoever. So I… I made sure he wouldn’t have to fight.”

“How?”

“I injured him and made it seem that- that I _wanted_ to fight. That I was bloodthirsty. It was the only thing I could think of. Matt was sent to a work camp and I was stuck in the arena.”

“For how long? Do you know?” Keith asked, his curiosity burning.

“Long enough to make a name for myself,” he said bitterly. “And then suddenly, I was stuck on a ship and brought here. No one’s said anything- no one’s even mentioned what I’m doing here. Although it can’t be any worse than what I’ve already been through.”

Keith wished that that were true. But he knew firsthand what the monsters on this ship were capable of. If Shiro managed to survive the arena for so long, they might want to find out how. They might even experiment on him. A ball of sorrow burrowed in the pit of Keith’s stomach at the thought. Shiro was far too kind a soul to go through something like that. But what could Keith do?

Maybe he could ask Thace? See if they could work out helping Shiro escape too. Unfortunately, his uncle was probably too busy trying to plan Keith’s escape and all the while staying undercover. Odds are, they wouldn’t have time to figure out an escape for both of them. The reality only made him feel guilty. There was only one thing he could really do. And that was answering Shiro’s question by telling the human his own story.

“After our planet collapsed, what was left of our population sought refuge on a planet called Altea…” Keith told him everything. From his time spent as a willing participant in Zarkon’s army, to the plot to kill the royal family. His trepidation as the moment grew closer for him to take the prince’s life. Keith told him of his defection from the empire, how he saved Lance and the others, staying behind and facing Lotor’s fury. When it came to the details of what Haggar was doing to him, he tried to stay at least a little vague. Mostly because he wanted to protect Shiro from that knowledge. After all, he could be going through the exact same thing not too long from now.

The only thing he left out was Thace. He did allude to having help, but Keith wasn’t sure how safe it was to be talking about his uncle with someone else. For all he knew, there was guard planted outside their cell right now. Granted he would have heard their heavy footsteps long before they got to the door, but all Galra go through the same training and he knew for a fact if someone wanted to eavesdrop, they could silence their steps easily.

Keith also told Shiro what Lotor had done to keep him from escaping.

“Hmm, I don’t see a seam anywhere…” Shiro leaned in, eyes narrowing as he studied the device around Keith’s neck. The young Galra was foolishly hoping that his cellmate would see something on the ring, something that might get it off.

Keith leaned back against the wall and pushed his shirt collar back up. He couldn’t help huffing in annoyance. “Seems like only Lotor can take it off. He kind of hates me.”

“That might be an understatement.”

“Maybe a little.”

It was quiet for a moment while Shiro scooted back to his end of the cell. The next question wasn’t one he expected. “So this prince…”

The way Shiro’s his voice lifted at the end, it was almost teasing.

Keith frowned, a skeptical look on his face. “What about him?” he asked back.

“He seems… from what you’ve told me, he seems to like you a lot. After all, he came all that way to rescue you.”

The young Galra’s mind flitted to Lance. They happier memories he had of the prince. Those nights on the roof, his silver hair glimmering in the moonlight. Those casual conversations they had when no one was around or the way he’d make faces at Keith during court. Keith knew that he personally cared for Lance very much, but it was still sometimes difficult to remember that the prince felt the same way.

His bond with Lance was foreign, as were all the emotions attached to it. After spending so many years repressing his emotions and ignoring those instincts to better himself as a solider, Keith lacked the confidence to fully accept the fact that Lance cared for him as much as he cared for the prince. It just didn’t make sense for someone as beautiful as the Altean prince would so much as look his way. Keith thanked his lucky stars every day that Lance did.

Unbeknownst to him, a small smile had found its way to his lips. Keith twirled the purple gem hanging from his ear. The feel of it smooth and comforting in a place that was nothing but sharp and dangerous.

“What’s that?” Shiro pulled him out of his thoughts.

Keith startled, his hand stopping mid-motion. Realizing where Shiro was looking, Keith unclipped the earring and held it between his fingers to show him.

“A gift from Lance.” The gem sparkled even in the dim light.

“It’s beautiful.” Shiro smiled; his tired, kind eyes crinkling. 

“Thanks.”

Their conversation was interrupted by food tossed haphazardly between the bars of the window. It was more this time. Someone seemed to finally notice that there were two people in this cell instead of one.

Whatever training Shiro went through on earth must have prepared him for situations like this. He, like Keith, didn’t eat or drink everything that was provided, opting to stash some in the corner for a later time when food might be more scarce. He sat with his back against the cell door, his hands resting on his knees and his finger tapped in a strange pattern. A pattern that Keith soon realized, matched the guards patrolling outside.

Keith couldn’t tell if the man was even consciously doing this or if it were more instinctual. Whatever the reason, Shiro hadn’t given up on a chance to escape. And after milling in his depression for far too long, neither would Keith.

* * *

 

The day to night cycle in the Castle of Lions was set around Altean times, and apparently those were a little bit different then earth. Lance hadn’t really noticed the difference when they stayed on planet Earth but Hunk and Pidge sure noticed.

Night and day stretched on longer, making the two humans have to fight against their dropping eyelids when they still technically had a few hours in the day. However after they found the Yellow and Green lions, things were pretty quiet. Kind of hard to save the universe when you don’t have all the necessary pieces.

Always leaning towards the night more, Lance was up and about wandering the castle halls much like he would back on Altea. Only here there was no thrill of hiding from the palace guards.

Lance wandered past the kitchen, spotting Hunk trying to cook. The prince had noticed that his big friend spent a good majority of his time in the kitchen. Apparently cooking made him happy and eased whatever anxiety that kept him up most nights. Lance thought about joining him, being a taste tester again for whatever he whipped up, but decided against it. Hunk looked so content, humming to himself and Lance didn’t want to interrupt that.

So he kept moving.

The prince wandered the Castle of Lions and eventually found himself in the control room. The brilliant view of the stars never ceased to amaze him. He stood for a while, the ship gliding on autopilot through space, and just stared at the stars. He so loved the stars.

Out of habit, Lance strode over to his chair and plopped down. A few taps on the armrest and the holo screens came to life in front of him. He pressed open a small panel on the armrest and it slid open smoothly. Lance unclipped the earring from it spot and dropped it into the small scanner. A blue light enveloped it as the top of the panel slide close.

A few moments later a familiar map popped up on his screen, showing a small red dot in the same place it had been in for the past few days.

Lance sighed, watching the little dot paced back and forth in its tiny space. At least Keith was moving now. For a while, he didn’t move at all and Lance had gotten worried. But things seemed to be back to normal. However normal things could be in this situation.

Lance zoomed out, looking at the bare map in front of him. At the bottom were coordinates, pin pointing Keith’s exact location on that stupid ship, but nothing else. Keith only went to two places. One of which Lance assumed was his cell and the other was a mystery, but he had a sinking feeling about that place. Keith’s dot would be stuck in one place, but it would move erratically, like it was vibrating. Lance really didn’t want to think about what happened during those times. 

Minutes ticked by and Lance just watched, trying to image what Keith was thinking at the moment. Was he scared? As scared as he was when Lance had to leave him sitting in that hall?

Or was he back to his brave and determined self? His mind working on the problem that was Lotor’s stupid gift.

The Altean prince had put a lot of thought into that very problem. The only two solutions he was able come up with was to somehow coerce the evil prince to help them, or cut off his hand and use it to release the device. Lance kind of liked the second one better.

It was comforting to know that Keith wasn’t alone on that ship. Thace proved to be an ally the moment he saved Keith’s life. It was clear from the brief interaction he saw that Keith trusted the other Galra wholeheartedly. After all, his former bodyguard was pretty protective of him and to let someone else lead Lance to safety said a lot.

Thace didn’t say much when he helped him escape. Only parting words that they would meet again and that he would keep Keith safe. Lance really hoped that he would come through on that last part.

Soft footfalls approached from behind and Lance had a feeling he knew who it was.

“Hey buddy,” Hunk said with a smile. In his hands were two bowls filled with some discolored food goo. Colorful flecks dotted the goo which made it look even stranger.

“Hey… what _is_ that?” Lance asked.

“Cake.”

“That doesn’t look like a cake.”

Hunk handed him a bowl and a spoon and sat next to his chair. “Yeah, I couldn’t actually bake a cake here, but I did figure out how to manipulate the flavor parameters on the food dispensers. With a little bit of trial and error, I can make the goo taste like anything.”

Lance lifted his brow. “Really? That’s… that’s amazing, Hunk.”

“Thanks. Try it! I think I made confetti cake.”

Lance had no idea what confetti cake tasted like (or why human would want _confetti_ in a cake at all), but he indulged his friend all the same. Minus the texture, which was still reminiscent of the regular goo, it was incredible. Wonderfully sweet flavors danced across his tongue, making his eyes go wide in wonder.

Hunk chuckled from his spot next to him. “Pretty good, huh?”

“Hunk! This is amazing! You got to make this for everyone.” Lance shoveled  another few bites into his mouth. “Actually don’t ‘cause I want this all to myself. Holy quiznak, this is great…”

“Well I already told Pidge I was trying to do this, so you’re gonna have to compete with her.”

“I can take her. She’s, like, half my height.”

Another voice surprised the two of them. “Lower to the ground, harder to hit.”

Pidge was walking towards them with a bowl in her hands. From the look of things, she had just rolled out of bed. Her hair was a mess, pajamas still on, and it seems that she didn’t bother putting on her glasses. Not for the first time, Lance wondered if she really needed them at all.

“What are you doing up?” the prince asked. “And what are you doing with the cake Hunk made me?!”

The girl plopped down on the opposite side of Lance’s chair and ate a spoonful. “I could smell it from my room. And you know Hunk was going to share. It’s, like, against his nature not too.”

Hunk shrugged. “Can’t argue with the truth.”

Lance heaped another spoonful into his mouth. The trio ate their treat happily, occasionally talking and looking up at the stars. Both of the humans bonded with their lions quickly, just as fast as Lance had. If Pidge was enamored with the Blue Lion, her response to the Green Lion was nothing short of pure awe. More than once, Lance or one of the others would find her in Green’s hanger, combing over every inch of the mechanical lion and figuring out how it worked. Along with Coran, Pidge was probably the next expert on the lions should anything go wrong with them.

Still, they were two lions and two paladins short of forming Voltron with no leads so far. The Black Lion was in the castle, guarded by a door that wouldn’t open unless all the lions were present. But the Red Lion wasn’t showing up anywhere. It was a problem that all of the inhabitants of the castle were trying to wrap their brilliant brains around.

“What do you think it is?” Pidge asked randomly. “That’s keeping the princess from finding the Red Lion?”

“Don’t know.” Lance shrugged and polished off the last of his snack. He was sorely tempted to lick the bowl clean.

“Is it because it’s too far away? Hmm no that doesn’t make any sense… the Yellow Lion was like, three galaxies away.”

“Do you think there’s some sort of interference?” Hunk asked. That question was directed at the prince for some reason.

Lance considered it. “Maybe… but what could disrupt a signal like that? It’s got to be something pretty powerful.”

The two other paladins murmured in agreement. Pidge set down her bowl, her eyes narrowed in thought.

“What if it’s the Galra?” she said tentatively.

Hunk and Lance shared a confused look before turning to their friend. “What?”

Pidge rolled in to her explanation. “Well think about it. Lance, your friend said that Zarkon knows about Voltron, right?”

The prince nodded, grimacing all the while. It had come as a shock to all the Alteans that Zarkon knew of the legendary defenders’ existence. Coran in particular was devastated. It was still unclear how much the Emperor knew, but it obviously wasn’t sufficient. Otherwise he would have had the Castle of Lions considerably more guarded then he did when they stole it.

Pidge went on. “What if Zarkon knows about Voltron because he has the Red Lion? Their technology is advanced enough to hide its signal. And if they found the Red Lion, then they wouldn’t know about the castle or the Black Lion or anything else really. Just that Voltron exists. I mean, how else would we have made out with one of the lions so easily when Zarkon was hanging out under it for months.”

“That- that actually makes a whole lot of sense.” Lance felt like a piece of the puzzle had slotted into place. They’d still have to reason with Coran and Allura about this theory, but Pidge’s logic was pretty sound. In the short time he’d known her, Lance figured that she wasn’t the kind of person to throw out random guesses. Pidge was the type to consider all the facts before compiling a hypothesis.

Hunk stood, collecting the now empty bowls. “If they did find it, I wonder how? The universe is a big place. Seems kind of impossible to just randomly run into something like that.”

“Isn’t that what we did?” Pidge pointed out. “We found the Blue Lion, remember?”

“Huh, I guess you’re right. Think we can find like, a space burrito shop anytime soon?”

“Hunk, we just ate. And can’t you make the goo taste like anything now?”

“Yeah but eating a gooey burrito does not sound like something I want to try. Burritos should not have to be eaten with a spoon.”

Lance frowned, confused. “Umm, what’s a burr- eat-o?”

The bowls rattled in Hunk’s arms. He looked shocked for a moment, before settling into a more understanding look. “I keep forgetting that you, Coran, and the princess are aliens. Man, we need to take you all back to Earth and treat you to some real food.”

“You gave us plenty of things when we were there. Also, why do you always call Allura ‘princess’?”

“Because she _is_ a princess.”

“So? I’m a prince.”

“Yeah, but to be honest, we kind of forget that.” Pidge stood and stretched her arms over her head.

“Really? Why?”

The two humans exchanged looks, having some sort of silent conversation. Finally, Pidge spoke. “I guess you don’t act like royalty.”

“Yeah, man,” Hunk agreed. “You’re just more relaxed and chill. More like us.”

“And your table manners are horrible.”

“Hey?!” the prince glared at his friends. Hunk laughed at Pidge’s brashness and Lance’s reaction.

Next to them, on the holo screen that was still open on the princes’ chair, the red dot that he’d been watching so diligently flickered out.

* * *

 

Keith woke up one day and Shiro was gone. He rubbed his eyes furiously, hoping they were just playing tricks on him. But the cell was empty, apart from the small amount of food in Shiro’s corner and the pile in his. Keith was back to being alone.

He paced the cell frantically. He was angry at the people who kept them locked up. Angry at the whining, pitiful creatures in the cells around him. Angry at Thace who hadn’t shown himself in so long that Keith was beginning to convince himself that his uncle was gone. Most of all, he was angry with himself for letting them take his friend away.

More than once, Keith planted himself at the small window. He watched the guards pass by, none of them sparing him even the most fleeting of glances. Like Shiro, he began counting, tapping out the time it took for a patrol to pass until he had the pattern memorize. It didn’t do much to distract him from the worry that settled in his chest.

On the rare occasion that he slept, it was fitful. Keith sat up against the wall, always ready to move or attack if need be. Using what he learned from years and years of training, the young Galra was sure that the next time that door opened, he would be ready. So the fact that someone slipped into the cell at all was a blow to his confidence. But seeing that it was Thace he quickly pushed those feeling aside.

“Thace, I was- well I thought that you were…” his words jumbled in his throat as he stood. Keith had jumped up at seeing his uncle but fumbled on what to do. Part of him wanted to hug him, but the other still felt as though the two of them were strangers. With that thought in mind, Keith kept his hands to his side.

“I apologize for the delay, but things have been… difficult.” His uncle sighed, his shoulders dropping. “With the round of prisoners brought in from the gladiator arena, security in the cell block has doubled. Thankfully, there are some rather lethargic patrols on the night shift.”

Keith nodded, ready to move the conversation along to real topic. “Last time you were here, you said you would tell me everything.”

Thace nodded, albeit very slowly.

“So… tell me. What do they want from me?”

Keith had never demanded anything in his life. He was never in a position to, being someone’s subordinate for the majority of his young adult life. Now, however, he was demanding. With all the force he could muster in his tired and worn body, after all the abuse his mind had gone through, he was demanding an answer for it all. And Thace wasn’t going to leave this cell without giving it to him.

The Galra commander let his composure fall away again, relieving a very tired and strained looking individual in front of him. Keith involuntarily winced at the sudden change. Absently, he wondered just what else his uncle was up to on this ship. It’d be a little conceded to think that Thace would betray the Empire just for him.

“Sit,” Thace said simply. “There is much that you’ve forgotten.”

Keith followed his command, confused. “Forgotten? What do you mean, forgotten?”

“Do you remember your mother?”

“Yes, but not too much to be honest.”

“What do you remember?”

The young Galra grumbled, wondering why this was necessary. But he indulged his uncle and answered the question.

“I remember… I remember her not being around too much? Especially those last few years. But even then, she was always…” strong, wonderful, beautiful? Better than anyone he’d ever known? “She was always smiling at me. No matter what. Even when the others in our district looked down on her. When she’d have to leave, she always wore this fake smile. I could tell she didn’t want to leave.”

“Do you remember why she had to leave so often? What her job was?”

“Uhh… no. Not really. I always assumed she was a part of the city guard.”

“Unfortunately no.” Thace sighed, his stiff posture slowly falling away. “Lira was a part of an elite infantry group that relied heavily on stealth and speed. Long before our planet fell, Emperor Zarkon was already attempting to spread his reach within our system as discreetly as possible. That meant sending small groups of highly trained warriors in that were able to overthrow the standing government and implement Galra rule swiftly.”

“How come the other planets didn’t send out distress calls or ask a nearby system for help?”

“They were that good. Knocking out communications, grounding any space craft; they had it down to perfection. The empire was slowly growing without anyone to stop it.”

“Okay… that’s really interesting but I don’t see how its relevant.” He huffed.

Thace shot him an irritated look before continuing. “While Lira was on assignment, she stumbled upon something that made all other operations stop.”

“What?”

“The Red Lion of Voltron.”

Keith’s ears twitched. Once, then twice. He blinked rapidly, trying to work through what had just been said.

“I- uhh… wait a tick. My m-mother… she _found_ Voltron? I mean- a part of Voltron? That’s…. unbelievable.” Once he had a handle on the situation, the questions wouldn’t stop pouring from his mouth. “How did she find it? Was she its paladin? Why wasn’t everyone told? What happened to it? What-“

“Calm down, little one. I’ll tell you everything.” Thace held up his hand to stop the young Galra’s ramblings. There was a faint smile on his lips while he did so, making him look more relaxed then Keith had ever seen.

Keith squirmed where he sat, eager to hear more about this startling revelation. Thace went on.

“The Red Lion didn’t respond to your mother, so no she wasn’t its paladin. They moved the Lion back to Galera and hid it deep underneath high command. Emperor Zarkon wanted to keep it hidden until more information about Voltron was discovered. Then… well then you happened.”

“ _Me_? What do you mean me?” he gaped.

Thace’s happier expression vanished. He frowned and looked a little more worried than before. “There… there was an accident. You had just turned 7 and you went missing. You were gone for days and no one knew what happened to you. It was just by chance that I found you, right in the bunker where the Red Lion was hidden. And… it responded to you. For the first time, the particle barrier that it generated was down.”

“… it what?” For the second time in this short interaction, Keith was left reeling. His mind felt heavy as it tried to process this information. “I-I don’t understand. How come it reacted to me? How come I don’t _remember_ any of this?”

His uncle looked strained. “I don’t know. You were very sick when we found you. There was a cut on your leg that had become infected. When you woke, you didn’t remember the how you’d gotten down there or anything about the Red Lion. Naturally, Zarkon became interested in you. You were put under surveillance and enrolled to begin your training two years too early. Your mother wasn’t going to let that stand.”

Keith looked up, not even realizing that his gaze had slipped to his hands. He was still having a hard time absorbing all this wild information. More mention of his mother managed to pull him back to conversation at hand.

“What do you mean?” his voice was sounding different as well. More breathy and soft.

“Lira was planning to escape. To take you and leave the planet. It was something she had been talking about for a long time, but Zarkon’s interest in you spurred her plans into action.”

“Mom… she was going to leave? She didn’t follow Zarkon?”

“Not for one second. She fought against the empire in any little way she could.”

Keith let out a shaky breath; a smile on his face that he didn’t even realize had grown. His mother was against the empire, against Zarkon. That meant… that meant that she would be proud of him. Proud of all his efforts to protect Altea, to protect Lance. _She would be proud… she would be proud…_

“What happened to her?” his voice was barely above a whisper. An all too familiar tightness in his chest began to blossom. He looked up at Thace, at his uncle, and dreaded the response.

“I really don’t know.” He leaned back, his head resting against the cell wall. “One moment she was sending me a message saying that she would contact me when you both were safe and the next… the next I was signing off the list of new trainees and your name was at the top of the list. I don’t know what happened to my sister, but I do know that it would have taken Voltron itself to tear you from her arms.”

Keith brought his knees to his chest, his head reeling and chest aching. He had a sinking feeling ever since he was young, that his mother might not be alive. Given what Thace had just said, it seemed that he believed she was dead too. Keith wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling his legs even closer. It was like he was trying to shrink. Shrink smaller and smaller until he disappeared and didn’t have to face this pain anymore. This unbearable loss.

But Keith couldn’t just disappear. Not now. Not when he still had family in Thace, a friend in Shiro and… and Lance. Not now that he had Lance. 

“So.” Keith had to clear his throat before speaking again. His voice sounded so small. “So, I’m connected to the Red Lion. That’s why I’m here.”

“Yes,” Thace confirmed. “There are only a select few who know of that connection. And Zarkon wishes to exploit it.”

“But how? I don’t even remember seeing it.”

“I’m not too sure on the details, but it seems that Haggar and her strange brand of magic is the key. Your connection with the Red Lion was damaged, most likely from your illness when you were young. According to legends, you should feel a bond with your lion at all times. Like a familiar presence in the back of your mind.”

The young Galra frowned. He had never felt anything like that before.

“Haggar is trying to reestablish your connection with the Red Lion. Those dreams you’ve been having, they are memories. Memories that end with you finding the Red Lion. Relieving the moment the two of you first bonded. Once she does that, reestablishes your bond, she will have full access its quintessence.”

“Red’s quintessence? Why does she want that?”

“Haggar believes that if she can steal the Red Lion’s quintessence, she can implant it into another and give them the power of piloting a piece of Voltron. You are no longer loyal to Zarkon, so you are no longer a paladin in their eyes. They will give the Red Lion to someone who is loyal. And you… you would be…” Thace seemed to lose his ability to speak. His eyes were wide looking up at Keith with a pained expression. Keith tried to gulp down a lump in his throat.

“What would happen to me?” he bravely asked.

Thace didn’t seem to want to talk, but he promised his nephew answers. All the answers. “Draining the Red Lion’s quintessence, it would also drain yours. The two are identical and Haggar most likely won’t leave anything behind. Without it… you wouldn’t die but— “

“But I won’t be _me_ anymore.”

Keith knew enough about quintessence to know what would happen if it was ripped from him. His body would live, but it would be nothing more than an empty shell. Everything that made him Keith was attached to his quintessence. It was life itself, unique to every living thing. Without it, he was nothing but blood and bone.

It truly was a fate worse than death. To live, but feel nothing. To be nothing. No memories or conscious thought. Clinging to life, but not living. It was absolutely terrifying to think about.

“Keith.” Thace’s voice was gentle, soothing almost. The tone of it brought back memories buried deep in his mind. “Keith. I didn’t tell you this before because I was afraid that you knowing their goal would only make them reach it faster. I’m still worried that I haven’t made the right decision. Please Keith, you can’t give in. I know I’ve said it before, but can’t say it enough. Don’t fall prey to Haggar’s magic.”

“I won’t. But Thace, I can’t hold out forever. Its- it’s impossible…”

“It’s not impossible, little one. Difficult, but not impossible. I’m working on a way to get you out. Just hold on until then.”

Keith finally swallowed down the lump in his throat. “I will.”

It felt like they had talked for days. So many truths revealed in such a short amount of time, it was slow to process. Thace left soon after, exchanging a brief and awkward hug before he left. He made no promises to return but Keith knew that he would see he uncle again soon. Or at least, he trusted he would.

The hope his uncle had built up in his head felt miles high, unstable and weak at the foundation. It was foolish to ride on that hope, to sit on it and think that nothing can ever tip it over. But when faced with the reality of having his very soul ripped out of his body, he was going to ride that hope until the very last second. Clinging to with the points of his claws until they cracked and bled. After all, he promised himself he wouldn’t give up again.

In all that time, Keith had forgotten his friend. Shiro’s empty corner of the cell felt bigger than ever, and Keith felt guilty for not asking his uncle what had become of his friend. It just slipped his mind. What with all these insane revelations he just sat through.

Keith still sat curled in on himself, breathing slowly. His hand went to the earring hiding behind his dark tuffs of hair. The little latch clicked open and Keith gazed at the glittering gem. It hadn’t lost its shine after all this time. It was still as bright and beautiful as when Lance first gave it to him. The night before it all went wrong. Sitting on the princes’ balcony, the cool night air and twin moons hovering in the sky.

If he closed his eyes, Keith could swear he was there again. Sitting in those plush chairs and feeling comfortable in each other’s presence. Oh, did he miss that. He missed Lance and the ease at which he did everything. How he confidently strode through the palace halls or on the slanting edges of the roof top. The way he spoke to his bodyguard like he was anything but. Like they were something more.

Keith rolled the jewel between his fingers. Not for the first time, he wondered why Lance had given it to him. The prince had said that he wanted to give something to Keith, something personal. But from the way he flushed and stuttered, he couldn’t help but feel like there was something more that was unfortunately left unsaid. Hopefully, not for long.

Outside his cell, an unfamiliar sound began to echo down the corridor. Footsteps, slow and heavy. Burdened with something else. Keith clutched the earring in his hand. Holding it like that was a comfort. Keith hopped up as the noise became louder, now laced with unmistakable groans of pain. His ears were practically vibrating with anticipation as the sounds came closer to his door.

The cell door slid open and immediately a blaster was shoved in his face.

“Stand back,” a forceful voice commanded.

Keith stood his ground and snarled. He peered around the taller Galra and saw the limp form of his friend hanging between two others. “Shiro! What did you _do_ to him!?”

The guard in front of him jabbed his blaster into Keith’s shoulder. “Stay _back_ , traitor.”

He wasn’t listening. Keith stepped forward, the harsh pressure on his shoulder not even fazing him. Not when he saw what they had done. As Shiro was dragged into the cell, Keith saw with horrifying clarity that his right arm was completely gone.

“Sh-Shiro?” Keith’s amber eyes grew wide, following his barely conscious friend. “You- you took his _arm_? You bastards took his arm!”

Keith didn’t think, he acted. The furious young Galra smacked the blaster away from his shoulder and lunged at the guard in front of him. With a terrible snarl he tore at any part of the guard that wasn’t covered in armor. His claws hadn’t lost their sting in all this time, nor had his fist lost its strength. Keith managed to land a few good jabs right under the bastard’s jaw while simultaneously raking his claws against his less protected side.

One of the others had noticed the scramble and hastily dropped Shiro. He made to reach for a small club on his hip, but Keith was faster. He grabbed the guard in front of him shoved him back hard. He stumbled into the approaching threat, throwing the two of them off wickedly balance. The club and the blaster both dropped to the ground.

Keith made a break for the blaster.

He dove for it, ignoring the shouts and threats aimed in his direction. It had slid to the opening of the cell, leaning just out in the hall. With his hands stretched in the right direction, Keith was inches away from it.

Something heavy slammed on his back, forcing him to drop to the ground. Keith coughed, all the air forced out of his lungs in one painful swipe. He’d forgotten about the other guard. Keith scrambled on the floor, trying to get away now more than anything. A heavy weight pressed between his shoulder blades which he quickly realized was the third guard’s knee. A blaster was shoved into the back of his head, pulling out a strangled yelp from his throat.

“What are you trying to pull, _half breed_? You know you can’t escape,” an annoyingly familiar voice taunted. Plydo kept his blaster in place while the others gathered up their own weapons. In the corner, Shiro seemed to be coming too, his eyes fluttering and becoming more clear.

Plydo grabbed for Keith’s arms, positioning his knee lower on his back. He yanked Keith’s arm back harshly and trapped it underneath his knee while he went for the other one. Keith panicked, clenching his first tighter. All that time he had forgotten. Lance’s earring was still in his hand. Plydo noticed his movement and took it for a threat.

“Don’t even think about tryin’ something.” He latched onto Keith’s wrist with a crushing grip. Keith grit his teeth, trying desperately not to make a sound. Plydo dug his thumb into the underside of Keith’s wrist. The pointed claw pierced his flesh, drawing out a pained hiss from his prey. The wicked Galra drove his claw in swiftly, catching Keith off guard and making him yelp. His grip loosened at the sudden burst of pain.

“What’s this?” Plydo quickly tore open Keith’s fist, snatching up the purple gem.

“N-no! Its’ no-nothing. Nothing!” he wheezed. His other arm quickly became trapped between his back and Plydo’s knee. Keith wriggled and writhed, fighting against the mass above him. But it was futile.

Plydo laughed, leaning down near Keith’s head. “Nothing, huh?” He motioned for one of the others to hold Keith down while he turned to face him. He rolled the earring between his fingers, closely watching for a reaction. And Keith, he couldn’t help himself.

His eyes never left the beautiful gem. His expression was blown wide with terror as the one possession he owned was in someone’s hand. Keith’s attention shifted for a moment to the brute’s ugly smirk. Plydo took a few steps back and dropped the earring. Keith wriggled again, trying to reach the precious little item.

Plydo’s smirk grew even wider. “I’d say it’s a little more than that. But if you say it’s nothing, then I guess you won’t mind-“

The heel of Plydo’s boot slammed down on the stone. Once, twice, three times until it finally shattered. Keith was sure that the gem wasn’t the only thing that shattered. Just like he was sure that the strangled cry that he distantly heard was coming from his own mouth. What he wasn’t sure of was if the ringing his ears was real or not. If felt real. The intense high pitched squeal that pierced his eardrum the moment the gem broke. It was like a siren going off in his head, telling him that everything was wrong.

In his shock, he didn’t notice that he had been let go. The other guards picked up their things and shuffled out of the door, keeping a wary eye on him all the while. Pyldo might have said something, sneered some insult or taunt, but the ringing in his ears drowned all that out.

When the cell door shut, that was Keith finally began to move. He crawled on the ground, pushing himself forward to the shattered remains of the earring. He stared at it, unwilling to believe that he lost something so precious. With shaking hands, Keith touched what was left. The clip was bent and broken, most of the gleaming gem nothing more that dust. The only pieces really left were hardly bigger than a grain of sand.

Behind him, Shiro shuffled closer. “Keith- Keith I’m so sorry… I’m sorry-“

“Are you okay?” he asked stiffly, eyes still glued to that spot on the floor.

“I’m fine. Fine as I can be.” A steady hand rested on his shoulder. Shiro’s only hand.

Keith pushed himself up to his knees, sitting back on his legs as he tried to hold himself together. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

Everything seemed to crash down on Keith all at once. The weight of all the things Thace told him seemed to finally settle down. Losing the one thing he had connecting him to his prince, reminding him that Lance was even real, was gone. The only things left were a broken clasp and purple dust.

Keith grasped Shiro’s hand, holding it tightly as he began to curl in on himself. This time, he really did wonder if he could just disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All aboard the angst train.  
> Thanks to [annalyia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia) for dealing with my questionable grammar.

“It’s gone… it’s _gone_! How could it just be gone?!” Lance was frantic, bare feet padding across the cool floor and a hand pulling at his hair.

“I-I don’t know. Pidge, did that change anything?” Hunk had practically ripped the side panel of the chair off, revealing the wires and mechanisms that powered it. He was holding two thin wires in his hand, four more curled on the floor next to him.

Pidge was sitting in the actual seat, hands moving at an incredible speed across the holo screen. She grumbled, brows angled harshly. “No… no nothing’s changed. Ugh c’mon, what’s with this thing!?”

The prince’s frustrations seemed to be affecting his friends. They looked just as worried and scared as he felt. Lance stopped abruptly, staring out into the stars. There were dozens of reasons- reasons – hundreds, really – as, to why Keith’s signal suddenly disappeared.

Maybe the tracker was just too old. After all it had been well over a decade since it had any kind of maintenance. Maybe the ship he was on was moving. If they strayed into an asteroid field or maybe if they warped, that might disrupt the signal. Hell, the thing could have been damaged by some random accident.

Or maybe they found it.

Lance felt his heart beat a bit faster.

What if they found it? What if they realized that it was a tracker? Would they have used it to find their position? No, that wouldn’t explain why the signal just went out. They would have had to keep the connection up to track them. Maybe they were going to flip it on again at random to try and lure them in. But no, they couldn’t have found it. Keith wouldn’t have let them find it. That stubborn Galra would probably try to claw someone’s eye out for so much as touching the earring.

Keith wouldn’t let them destroy it either. Unless he was no longer able to stop them. Unless… unless something had happened to him. Something bad. Bad enough that he lost Lance’s gift; unwillingly surrendered it to his captures where they destroyed it out of spite.

 _What if they didn’t take it at all?_ Lances’ overactive imagination was turning a down a dark corner. _What if the earring was destroyed and Keith… and Keith along with it?_

There were a hundred reasons. A million reasons. But Lance’s mind could only focus on the one.

With his hands clenched at his sides, the prince moved back to his chair. Pidge’s big brown eyes flickered up to him, slowing her movements.

“…Lance?” her voice was soft.

“Can you call Allura’s communicator?” His voice was stiff and almost formal. It was a strangely reminisce of the practiced tone he’d use in court.

“Umm, yeah. Yeah hang on,” Pidge stopped what she was doing and opened up a new screen.

Lance was watching, but not really seeing. His eyes kept losing focus no matter how hard he stared. At his side, his hands were still fists. Blunt nails stinging his palms as the young prince tried to keep himself from shaking.

Hunk had stopped what he was doing, just like Pidge. The tall human shuffled over to Lance and looked at him with big worried eyes.

“Are you… are you okay?” the genuine concern in his voice was overwhelming. Lance nodded stiffly, trying and failing to smile.

A static sound filtered out of the speaker as Pidge began to hail Allura’s com. It took a little while, but eventually the sound gave way to ruffling and a few quiet curses.

“Wha-what is it?” Allura’s voice was heavy with sleep and confusion.

Lance took a breath, his posture perfectly straight and composed. Such a strange juxtaposition the turmoil that was happening in his mind at the same time.

“Allura. Can you come to the control room?”

“Lance? I- yes, I will be there shortly,” she paused, taking in a quick breath. “Are you alright, Lance?”

“I’m fine.” His response was automatic. He knew that she wouldn’t believe him.

“Alright… I’m on my way. I’ll wake Coran as well.”

“Fine.” Lance tapped the screen and the line went silent. He slowly walked to the front of the room and planted himself in front of the stars. The prince crossed his arms behind his back and let his eyes wander.

Lance always loved the night. He loved the peace that settled over the castle, over himself, over the whole of the capital where he lived. The cool night air would fill his lungs and wash over everything, cleansing him from all the stress the day could bring. He loved the thrill of sneaking out at night, where he had to blend in with the shadows and become as quiet as the wind to avoid being caught. Most of all, he loved the night because of the stars.

It was like a whole other world opened up when the sun went down. Swirling, sparkling balls of energy, living and exploding in the night sky. Planets too. At one point, Lance could name every planet visible from his little spot on the roof and most of the constellations too. Deep down in his gut, he knew he was drawn to the stars, to space. To all the adventures and new experiences that were waiting for him just a wormhole jump away. Lance loved the stars and always dreamed of travelling through them. He never imagined that dream would turn out like this.

Here was Lance, flying across galaxies as a paladin of Voltron, and all he wanted to do was go home. Turn back time to when the castle was firmly on the ground and he had no idea of what it was capable of. Back to the days where he’d fall asleep during Coran’s lessons or subtly chuck food at his sister during dinner. He wanted so badly to hear his father lecturing him again. Be it about his lax attitude during council meetings or about his habit of shirking his princely responsibilities, Lance wanted his father to scold him. Wanted so badly to just _see_ him again.

Lance wanted his life to be normal again. He wanted it to go back to being boring. He missed the time when the most exciting thing that happened was him almost falling off the roof and Keith miraculously saving him. Now, things were infinitely more complicated. Complicated, and also painful.

There were many things he had lost when the Galra took his planet. Friends and family that he had lost for good. But in all that time, he still had the hope of getting a small piece of that back. He had a chance of getting Keith back. Lance may not have known his former bodyguard long, but the place Keith had carved out in his heart was as dear to him as the bonds he’d formed with the others. It didn’t run quite as deep, but it had the chance to. It had so much potential to be one of the most important connections in his life.

Now more than ever, he felt that future slipping away.

Allura came marching in with swift steps. Lance could hear the swish of her robe billowing around her as she charged in, immediately turning to Pidge and Hunk. A second, less worrying set of footsteps followed closely behind her.

“What’s going on?” She didn’t sound annoyed, but her tone was very direct and firm.

Lance didn’t turn around; he simply continued to stare at the stars. Behind him he could hear shuffling, a few failed attempts at beginning a sentence, and then Allura tapping her foot.

The second set of footsteps, Coran’s, were steadily making their way over to the lonely prince.

“Princess,” Pidge was the one who finally spoke up, but her tone was far from its usual confidence. “we- we were all hanging out, just eating a snack and talking. Lance was tracking his friend, just checking up on him. Anyway, we were all were laughing or something and then we turned back and… and…”

Lance couldn’t stand it anymore. “Keith’s signal went out, ‘lura. It’s gone.”

 _He’s gone,_ his mind added. Lance just couldn’t keep the negative thoughts at bay.

“Gone?” Allura’s voice instantly softened. The crisp tone she used before becoming dull like a rusted blade. “Oh… oh Lance…”

“We need to move the castle.”

Silence. A silence weighed down with Lances’ own bad mood and everyone else’s questioning stares. He could feel them all looking at him. Their eyes boring into his back, likely to leave imprints in his skin. Next to him, Coran shuffled closed, clearing his throat with a little cough.

“Your highness, I don’t think now would be a wise time to go after Keith−“

“I said we need to move the castle. I didn’t say anything about Keith.” Finally, Lance turned around and faced his friends. “There are _hundreds_ of reasons why the signal just cut out. The Galra could have found it; they could have realized what it was. If that’s the case it’s possible that they used it to track us. We should move, before we find out the hard way if that’s true or not.”

Something glimmered in Coran’s eye, a sort of sympathetic understanding. The advisor nodded. “I think you’re right, prince. We should warp to another system just to be safe.”

Allura agreed. Her eyes never left her little brother as she stepped up to the controls. Coran set a course while Pidge and Hunk slumped into their own chairs. Lance stepped away from the view outside as soon as he felt the hum of the ship’s power spiking. The castle glided into the wormhole and soon they were speeding off towards their next destination.

Lance chose not to stay for the ride.

“Lance?” Hunk tugged on the prince’s sleeve as he walked by. “Hey, where’re you going? You want some company?”

“No thank you. I’m kind of tired.” Lance gently pulled away, feeling a little guilty at the crestfallen look on Hunk’s face.

“Oh… okay. If you, I don’t know, change your mind? I can… um… make you more cake? Yeah, I’ll make you cake. Or cookies or, something.”

The prince smiled, grateful for his friend. “Thanks, buddy. I’ll take you up on that some other time.”

Lance pat Hunk on the shoulder before walking off towards the door. The moment he left the presence of his friends, everything came crashing down on him once again.

The walk to his new bedroom was still unfamiliar, his feet wanting to lead him down a path that now led to nowhere. But still he trudged along, one foot in front of the other until he appeared at that average-looking grey door. It slid open and Lance wasted no time crossing the space and falling on his bed.

The sheets were still tucked in and folded over neatly from when he made his bed earlier that morning. Back on Altea, he never made his bed. In his mind, it was one of the small ways he’d rebel against the prim and proper life he’d been born into. Now however, he found himself making his bed perfectly every day. Another tired pull at normalcy.

Lance truly didn’t believe that Keith was gone. He knew in his heart that there was still hope. But was just so tired of this stupid push and pull on his heartstrings. Jumping back and forth from utter joy to complete devastation was beginning to take its toll.

Whatever turmoil he was going through had to be faced with courage.

As Lance lay there, willing every thought in his mind to stay positive, he couldn’t ignore the tears that began to leak from his eyes. He couldn’t help pulling his limbs in, curling in on himself, and rolling to his side. The young prince couldn’t help but sob, his deep breath ruined by a shaky gasp.

Lance would be brave. He had to be brave. But right now, that bravery could wait. For now he was going to cry. Release all his fears out in one go. Tomorrow he would stand tall and have courage. Tonight, he was just going to break down. 

* * *

 

The dreams had turned into nightmares. Not that the normal dreams were in any way pleasant, but now there was a new terrifying edge to them that made Keith afraid to close his eyes.

It was always the same. A thick, heavy darkness surrounding him; drowning him more often than not. Sometimes he felt like he was floating, other times like he was sinking. Either way, no matter how much he pushed, how hard he kicked, Keith couldn’t escape the darkness that plagued his dreams. And one of the worst parts was that Haggar had nothing to do with it.

It had been ages since he last saw the witch. Her attention seemed to be stolen away by some other project he heard the guards whispering about. No, Keith was falling into these nightmares all by himself which scared him more than anything. The sensation felt nearly identical to what Haggar put him through. The queasiness of his stomach, his pounding head. It was almost like she was remotely messing with him. Not in the room, but still poking around his head with her painful magic.

Maybe Thace had made a mistake in telling him the whole truth. Now that he knew what she was after, Keith spent a good majority of his time trying not to think about the Red Lion. But his thoughts were on a roundabout, spinning violently back to the subject he was trying to avoid.

It was all Keith could think about. The legend that had now become fact. Voltron was real and he was a part of it. Or, at least he could be. If he ever managed to get out.

Out of all of his worries, Shiro was at the top of the list. Keith feared that the human was what drew Haggar’s attention away from him. After Shiro returned, arm missing and tired beyond belief, the guards came back for him more and more. Every time he was returned, Keith wanted to fight, wanted to protect his friend, but that spark was gone. Shattered until all that remained was purple dust and a broken clasp.

Shiro had been back for a while now; lying on the floor resting. His remaining limbs were still intact, but there were other alarming things that made the young Galra worry. His bangs had turned a startling white, while the rest of his hair had remained the same dark color. At first Keith thought that it might be due to stress but the change was too rapid, happening in just a short amount of time. It had to have been Druid magic.

New scars were appearing on his skin. Not wounds, but scars. Keith never saw a hint of blood or anything that looked fresh. The pale marks looked ages old, like they were something Shiro had lived with for years instead of a few days.

And finally, Shiro seemed to be having nightmares too.

They slept in turns now, keeping watch while the other rested. But neither of them were watching the guards pass or listening to the conversations outside their door. Both were watching each other. They came to a silent agreement that they would wake one another when the nightmares became too much. When they were thrashing, mumbling and covered in sweat. When they were so lost in their own minds, everything happening in their dreams felt like reality. It was safe to say that neither of them every truly felt rested.

 “Shiro?” Keith’s throat felt raw, even after the little water he drank.

“Mhm?” Shiro cracked one eye open and looked over.

“What is Earth like?”

At that, Shiro fully looked over at Keith. “I already told you, didn’t I?”

 “You told me the basics. What it looks like, the climate, the terrain; but what is it like to you? What do you like about it?” Keith tugged at a tear at the knee of his pants. He almost used past tense when asking his question, like Earth was no longer available to the human. Like he was never going to escape this place. Keith may be teetering on his last thread of hope, but Shiro wasn’t. He was still fighting, waiting for a moment to escape. Shiro could still get back home. Keith on the other hand, had no home to escape to.

It was quiet for a moment, Keith felt like he could actually hear Shiro’s mind working on an answer.

“On Earth… well, I was kind of always looking up.”

“Up?” That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. Then again, it was kind of an open ended question.

“Yeah. Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be a pilot. My mother always joked that I was going to fall off a cliff or something because I was too busy looking at the sky instead of where my feet were going.” He smiled at the memory, the far off look in his eye not laced with confusion or pain like it so often was when Keith saw him. Instead, it was overflowing with warmth and happiness of a time long passed.

Shiro sat up, a little unsteady as he was still adjusting to doing everything with only one arm. “Looking back, I spent so much time reading and studying about what was going on in the sky, I guess I really didn’t pay attention to what was happening on the ground. Kind of… regret it now. Not getting to know my home a little better. I… I hope I have another chance too.”

“You will,” Keith said without hesitation.

“You really think so?” Shiro asked, a hint of something unreadable in his expression.

“Yes. You’re going to get out here, Shiro.”

“ _We_.”

Keith’s ears flinched. His eyes darted to the ground where they stayed, hiding from his friend’s strong gaze.

Shiro shuffled over to him, settling down right in front of him. “ _We_ are going to get out of this.”

“Shiro, I don’t know if that’s possible-“

“We’ll make it possible. I’m not going to leave you behind.”

Out of habit, Keith reached up to his ear where Lance’s earring used to sit. He clenched his fist, remembering yet again that it was gone. “I don’t think you have a choice in that. Lotor’s the one who decides.”

“Are you really going to let your life be controlled by some sadistic prince?”

“It’s not like have too many options,” he grumbled. For the first time since Lotor put it on, Keith traced the ring around his neck. It wasn’t tight, not now. In fact for the most part it felt like nothing was there at all. A person could very well forget that it was there in the first place. But Keith didn’t forget. He could never forget.

Keith could never forget the suffocating pressure on his throat. The way Lance’s voice pitched when he realized something was wrong. Keith remembered with startling clarity the tears in his prince’s eyes along with the feel of Lance’s body shaking as he cried. All of that was attached to this unassuming piece of metal around his neck. Those memories of pain and sadness that were quickly taking over all the happy moments he had spent with Lance.

 _Were… were there any happy moments?_ The startling thought suddenly consumed him.

When he first met the Altean prince, Keith was lying to him. He never told Lance about the attack Zarkon and Lotor were planning. He didn’t warn him about the destruction that was about to befall his planet. It wasn’t until the city was burning that Keith finally sucked up the courage to tell the prince of his involvement with the whole ordeal. And the look on Lance’s face? The waves of distrust and– dare he say – _hate_ rolling off the prince were overwhelming.

And yet Lance still came to rescue him. Thinking back on it now, it didn’t make any sense.

Before he realized what was happening, Keith’s memories of Prince Lance were slowly turning sour. Gone were the nights when it was just the two of them; scaling the rooftops of the castle and chatting idly. Gone were stolen glances during meetings and during court. Gone was the earring, the beautiful gem that, when he looked at it, reminded him of what he had waiting for him on the other side. The future that would be his.

Could be his.

Might have been his.

At that moment, all Keith could see was the darkness. The light that once guided him was lost. Hidden amongst the shadows, likely never to be found again.

Shiro hadn’t given up on comforting him. His voice was steady and low, keeping Keith’s thoughts grounded even though they still circled the negative. Not for the first time since his uncle’s visit, Keith wondered why in the world the Red Lion chose him. Maybe he was brave when he was a kid, but right now he felt pathetic.

 _Maybe that’s a good thing, h_ e thought. _Maybe our connection is too broken to be fixed. Then they’ll leave me alone._

That didn’t seem to be the case. Moments later, the door slid open. Both Keith and Shiro flinched at the sudden arrival. The young Galra frowned, he hadn’t heard any footsteps heading in their direction. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized why.

Haggar was there, a chilling grin on her face. Keith felt Shiro tense next to him.

“Well, it looks like you are finally ready.” She was looking at Keith; the amusement in her voice was unsettling.

“Ready…? What do you mean?”

Haggar didn’t answer him. She motioned to the guards in the hall. “Restrain them both. Take the Champion to the Druids. They have an upgraded unit they wish to try. As for the traitor, the usual room will do.”

Shiro had gone deathly pale, sweat beading on his forehead. Keith could hear his own pulse pounding in his ears. What the hell were they going to do to Shiro?

The guards entered the cell quickly, giving neither of the prisoners time to react. Keith was shoved onto his stomach while his arms were wrestled into cuffs. By the time he was let up, Shiro was already gone.

“Let me go!” Shiro’s voice sounded from the hall. “Wh-where are you taking him?!”

Keith’s stomach lurched. Shiro was being dragged to some unknown horror and yet he was still worried about his cellmate.

The young Galra was swept off the ground, two guards gripping his shoulders in a threating manner. They led him out of the cell in the opposite direction.

“Keith!” Shiro had planted his heels into the ground, fighting and thrashing in his captors hold. “Keith- don’t let them get to you! Stay strong- stay strong Keith! Agh!”

Shiro dropped to his knees. One of the guards had struck him on the side of his head with his club.

“Shiro!” Keith lunged towards his friend but was immediately caught by the hands that were still on his shoulders. “St-stop. Shiro… SHIRO!?”

But the human wasn’t responding. A small line of blood was trailing down the side of Shiro’s head, staining the already ruined prison uniform. The hit was hard enough to rattle his sense. Keith tried to pull away, to help his friend, but all too soon Shiro was taken around the corner and out of sight.

Keith felt a growl rumble in his chest. “Where are you taking him?”

“Why does it matter to you?” Haggar didn’t even turn to him when she spoke. “By the end of the day you won’t even be able form a thought, let alone worry about your _friend_.”

Keith’s stomach lurched for an entirely different reason now.

This wasn’t going to be his fate. He wasn’t just going to let Haggar win. He had to fight, he had to stay alive. Keith had to see Lance again. He had to tell the prince just how happy his smile and goofy antics made the young Galra. The memories were sluggish to return, and not nearly as bright as he needed them to be. They weren’t bright enough to lead him to safety. 

* * *

 

Lance woke slowly, his mind hovering in that strange place between being awake and dreaming. He wanted to stay in the dream just a little longer. It was place where everything was good and happy and there were no evil empires or raging space battles. There was just Altea, in all its wondrous glory. The prince always knew he lived in a beautiful place, but he never quiet realized just how lucky he was in life until it was all taken away. Even if he was born to a simple family on the outskirts of the Altean capital, it was still an incredibly brilliant place to live.

The faint hum of the castle was pulling him out of his sleep. It was an unnatural sound, compared to the early morning melody of his home, but Allura had said that given time he would get used to it. So far, that wasn’t true.

Lance rolled onto his side, well aware that the covers had been thrown over him. Someone, probably his big sister, had come to check on him last night after he left the control room in a hurry. Lance wasn’t too sure just how long it took for him to cry himself to sleep, but he felt utterly exhausted. Must have taken a while.

Begrudgingly, the prince rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Just as he expected his eyes were puffy and still a little red after last night. There wasn’t much he could do at this point. All the creams and concoctions he used to use were back in his bedroom on Altean. For a moment he wondered if the food goo would be a good substitute. After all, it kind of did have the same texture.

Without much else to do, Lance splashed some water on his face and willed the puffiness to go down. He doubted anyone would say anything about it, but all of them would probably give him sympathetic looks. Right now, Lance didn’t need sympathy. He needed a plan.

Lance got dressed and mustered up all the courage he had. Yesterday he mourned, and today he would fight. Keith wasn’t gone. He _knew_ that Keith wasn’t gone. But his bodyguard had been held captive for far too long. They escaped from Altea over six months ago, and in all that time, Keith had been alone and subjected to things Lance didn’t dare imagine. If anything, the signal from the earring going out felt like a warning. Like the siren that rang out before the violent storms back home. Something bad was coming.

The prince barely made it two steps out of his room before his sister’s voice was resonating on the intercoms.

“Paladins! Come to the control room at once!” The urgency in her voice was unmistakable. Lance didn’t hesitate and took off running.

Along the way he met up with Pidge. She stumbled out of the Green Lion’s hanger, her clothes rumpled and hair bushier than normal. The two shared a brief, confused look before continuing on.

Hunk was already there when they arrived. For once, he wasn’t twiddling his thumbs or shifting back and forth nervously. Although the smear of food goo on his cheek ruined any effect this would have had.

Lance strode over to his sister who was standing at the controls with a hard look on her face. “’lura? What is it?”

Her frowned deepened. “Were being hailed. By a Galra ship.”

“What? B-but how? How do they even know where we are?”

“They don’t technically have to know where we are,” Coran chimed in. “All they need to know is our transmitter frequency, which still, isn’t exactly a good thing.”

Pidge hurried to her seat, pulling up her screen. “It looks like the signal is coming from the same coordinates as the tracker’s last signal, give or take.”

“You’re right. It’s very likely it’s from the same ship.”

Lance tried to keep calm. Two possibilities came to mind. One: it was Keith, contacting them so that Lance could come and save him. Two: It was Lotor calling for some diabolical reason, possibly using Keith against them in some way.

The prince crossed his arms. “Guess there’s no chance of figuring out who’s calling?”

“Not until we answer it.” Coran turned to the two royals, awaiting their decision.

Lance glanced over at Allura. He knew that his sister had the final call on the matter. She was a leader in every sense of the word and Lance would follow whatever decision she made. However this one time, he wanted so badly to be the one in charge.

Allura shuffled over to him, her eyes still focused on the screen ahead. “Do you think it’s him?”

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “But I hope it is. Do you… do you think we can risk it?”

“Our position is secure. I already asked Coran and if we keep the transition under two dobashes they won’t be able to track us.”

“So then… are we answering it?”

Allura turned to face her little brother, he head tilting up slightly so that she could actually look him in the eye. “I don’t want to, especially if it turns out to be Lotor or Zarkon himself. But… there’s a chance it could also be your friend. And as your sister, I can’t let that chance slip by.”

Lance felt a surge of gratitude for his big sister in that moment. He turned away, scrubbing away the few tears that managed to escape and clasped on to Allura’s hand. He squeezed ever so slightly, letting his affection show.

Once the two were composed, Allura nodded to Coran.

The image on the screen went blank for a moment, the silence stretching on for an eternity. When the image finally appeared on the screen, it wasn’t any of the people Lance was expecting.

“Thace?” Lance gaped. The Galra officer looked a little on edge, his eyes shifting back and forth from the screen to the some point behind him every few seconds. Next to the prince, Allura stiffened.

“This is the commander who helped you escape?” she asked quietly. Lance nodded in response.

Thace bowed his head slightly. “Princess Allura, Prince Lance; it is good to see the two of you well.”

Allura didn’t have time for formalities. “Why have you contacted us? You may have aided my brother, but that doesn’t mean that I trust you entirely and it certainly does not mean that you can just contact us whenever you feel the need.”

Lance sighed, almost smiling at the somewhat alarmed look on Thace’s face .Clearly he wasn’t expecting such a heated response from Allura. _Quiznak…_

“My apologies for my informality, but Voltron is needed here right away.”

“Wh-what?” the princess sputtered. “You can’t just order Voltron like you would your armies. We go to where we are needed. To protect the innocent-“

“And it’s an innocent that Voltron is going to save.”

Lance’s attention whipped back to the screen. “Do you… do you mean Keith? It he in trouble?”

“Yes. More so than you know.” Thace seemed to change in that moment. His dark amber eyes grew somber and sad. For a moment, Lance lingered on the commanders’ eyes. They were almost the same color as another Galra’s eyes.

Almost the same as Keith’s.

“What’s happening to him?” Lance asked.

“The witch Haggar intends to rip all the quintessence from his body.”

“What?!” the entire group reacted to that statement. Everyone started talking at once, all of them looking for answers to such a ludicrous statement. The Galra commander looked strained, glancing at the door a few more times before trying to speak again.

One loud question from Allura managed to be heard. “What is that going to achieve? No offense to Keith, but he’s just a solider. Why would Haggar go to such lengths for someone like that?”

The twitch of irritation was clearly evident on Thace’s face. After a moment of silence, the commander’s eyes narrowed. “Because Keith is the Red Paladin of Voltron. If saving an innocent life isn’t enough motivation for you, then perhaps that information will suffice. I have sent you coordinates. Hail me on this frequency when you are close.”

With that final word, the transmission ended and the room was left in silence.

Lance felt like everything was suddenly falling into pieces. So that’s why Keith is being imprisoned so securely. Why Lotor had gone to such lengths to keep him there. Keith had said that Zarkon mentioned some sort of power within him, but Lance had no idea that this could be it.

“Lance.” Allura’s voice sounded strange, distant. “Did you know? That- Keith was the Red Paladin?”

“No. I don’t think he really knew either.” Lance kept thinking back to their brief conversation during the first failed rescue attempt. “He was surprised to find out that Voltron even existed in the first place.”

“How could he not know? If he’s a paladin, that means he’s met with the Red Lion. There is no other way to know if he’s been chosen or not.”

“I don’t know the answers ‘lura, but when we get Keith, you can ask him yourself.”

“I’ll be sure to.” Allura squeezed his hand.

“So is this it then?” Hunk asked. He was back to twiddling his thumbs but it seemed to be more from habit then actual nerves. “Are we actually going confront the bad guys?”

“Yes we are.” Allura stood tall, her hands hovering over the controls. “Coran, did you get the coordinates Thace sent?”

“Yes princess,” the advisor responded, twisting his mustache. “There’s an asteroid field nearby that we can take cover in while we contact the commander again.”

“Good. Paladins, suit up.”  

* * *

 

Keith was pretty sure his head was on fire. Every moment of his insignificant life was speeding past his eyes with incredible clarity. He saw everything. From his mother’s toothy smile to first sword he ever carried. He felt the hard ground beneath his feet and the cold chill of his old bedroom in the barracks. It hurt so much more than memories should. It hurt to keep watching when he knew that it would soon come to an end.

 _“Look at you, still trying to fight.”_ Haggar’s voice was creeping along the edges of his memories. It surrounded him, coming from everywhere all at once. Keith focused on the memory of his first sparing session. _“You could have been such a useful soldier. Strong and determined. If you were a pure Galra, perhaps things might have turned out differently.”_

A flash of purple and suddenly Keith was seven years old again, being chased down the street by towering bullies.

_Not this day… I can’t remember this day…_

Even if he wasn’t seeing it, his mind kept on filling in the blanks. They day he found the Red Lion was coming back to him in pieces. Facts about what happened kept filtering into his head, details filling in the blank spaces. His mother was away for work and little Keith was heading to get more food. A few steps out of his home and he was surround by three Galra boys who were only a few years older than him. They began calling him names, following him, tugging on his dark hair and fluffy ears. So Keith ran. Ran and ran, even when the sky opened up and began pouring rain. He ducked into an alley and let the twisting and dividing paths lead him away from the bullies, until he hit a dead end.

Keith grit his teeth and shook his head. Images of the rusted storm drain began filling his mind. The rough bars catching on the back of his shirt until it gave and he was sent tumbling backwards into the sewer.

 _“Incredible…”_ the witch cooed. _“If you hadn’t stepped out of the house that day, perhaps you wouldn’t even be in this chair right now. The universe is filled with so many wonders…”_

Chair? He wasn’t in a chair. Right now, Keith was pulling himself up onto the cold cement ledge, his head and hip throbbing and whole body shaking.

_No, no, no… it’s not real… I can’t remember this!_

_“This is very real. Aren’t you curious to see how the story ends?”_

_No!_

Back in reality, a sharp sting of pain made Keith cry out. He doubled over, his head nearly touching his knees as he pulled at the cuffs on his wrist and ankles. The pain temporally brought him back to his senses but a moment later he was trapped in his own mind again, while Haggar mended the broken bond he had with his lion.

The vision resumed with seven-year-old Keith leaping into the rushing water. It pulled him under almost immediately as he was whisked away further underground. Whatever crazy thought that had urged him to jump in the first place was quickly forgotten and replaced with just how stupid this plan was.

Keith kicked as hard as he could, his fingers breaking the surface of the water momentarily before being swept back down again. He managed to push himself up for one gulp of air before something sharp scraped along his right thigh. Keith howled in pain, his cries echoing back off the stone walls and hurting his sensitive ears.

The raging river he’d thrown himself into began to even out. The water slowing and becoming even colder. Keith couldn’t seem to focus on anything but the discomfort in this leg. Each kick made him hiss in pain and his arms were getting tired from all the extra work they had to do. Keith spotted a wide opening where the water became shallower. Not feeling like he’d be able to swim much longer, he trudged over, thankful that the current had died down.

Pulling himself to the shallow water took enormous effort from the little Galra pup. Once he was in a safe enough spot, he let his body relax. His leg was pulsing with pain. There was no doubt that it was bleeding, but Keith didn’t want to look down. The only real injuries he’d even had to deal with were scraped up knees and elbows. He was too young to be in any sort of training to know how to handle this.

_“We’re getting closer.”_

He could hear Haggar’s voice and wanted so desperately to snap back. To refuse or to fight, but something had trapped his better judgement and instead he was just left with a burning curiosity to keep reliving the memory.

Time in his recollection seemed to speed up. The memories were showing themselves in a sporadic way, making it hard to really focus on the order of what was happening.  He felt his younger self struggle to stand, his right leg giving out every few steps. The same algae covered walls and ankle deep water was all that he saw in the near darkness. The only thing guiding him was his need to escape and as strange pull in his chest coming from somewhere deep in this labyrinth.

Keith felt as hunger and thirst began to weigh on his younger self. He worked through the inner conflict of himself trying to decide if it was worth it to drink the sewer water.

Fatigue hit him in waves, coupled with the ache of his bruised hip and the cut on his thigh; it was a wonder that little Keith was moving at all. It was by sheer determination alone that he kept putting one foot in front of the other.

There were twists and turns, forks in the road that led to darkness. Keith seemed to walk as if he was being guided. The more exhausted he became the more he relied on instincts to guide him. And those instincts lead him to a large room.

“ _Nearly there. I can almost feel it.”_

The tunnel he was in ended in rusted bars, and on the other side was a room bigger than any he’d ever seen. Wires and bright spotlights hung down into the center, towering computers and other machines were circling something in the center. Some kind of figure, the details obscured by the red interlocking particle barrier encircling it.

Keith stared at it for a while, feeling a little let down that he didn’t see food or something else instead. Still he shimmied between the bars, wincing as he put too much weight on his bad leg. Taking each step slowly, Keith made his way to the center of the room, towards the giant red anomaly. In his young mind, he knew that he should be more concerned with looking for food or help, but he couldn’t look away from the mysterious figure.

The tall metal figure began to come into focus. It looked… strange. Definitely a mech of some sort, but unlike anything he’d ever heard of before. It looks animalistic, with four legs, a tail and a large head with amber eyes that kind of reminded Keith of his own eyes. What a thing like this was doing way below the Galra city was completely beyond young Keith.

His wonder and curiosity aside, Keith was having a hard time focusing. His eyes were drooping dangerously and his stomach was so desperate for food that the grumbling actually hurt. Distracted by his hunger pains, Keith tripped and fell onto his bad leg.

He swore, the only swear word his young mind knew as pain shot through his entire body. Keith rolled onto his back, pushing himself up to sitting position. After ignoring it for so long, he looked at the cut on his leg.

The short time he spent wading in the dirty water obviously had a negative effect. His fur was matted with blood that ran further down his leg then he realized. The wound itself had taken on an unnatural color and the flesh around it looked like it was bruised. Keith felt dizzy just looking at the injury.

With his head spinning, Keith decided that he needed to find help. This place clearly was in use. There wasn’t a speck of dust on any of the machines. Gathering what strength he had left, Keith made the effort to stand. He faltered, the muscles in his legs feeling weak and tired. Keith grimaced, frustrated. He needed leverage, something to hold on to while he pushed himself up. Just a little ways away was the particle barrier that protected that strange machine.

Keith shuffled over. The particle barrier would have to do. Keith steadied himself and placed a hand on the red barrier. He briefly marveled at how warm it was before leaning on it while he got his legs back under him.

Suddenly, the barrier shimmered. Keith yelped as the firm structure he was leaning heavily on suddenly disappeared. He fell down again, this time flat on his chest. The little Galra grumbled, slowly pushing himself up. When he finally looked up, the large amber eyes of the mech were glowing and staring down at him.

Keith scrambled back, suddenly very aware that whatever this thing was, it was watching him. But before his fear consumed him, a distant noise caught his attention. It sounded like the roar of some awesome beast. Low and threatening to any who crossed it. To Keith, it sounded strong and comforting in a way. He looked back up into those glowing eyes.

His vision was bombarded with images of more mechanical beasts. Lions, his mind suddenly realized. Colors danced across the starry sky. Flames and ice spiraling together, vines exploding out from nowhere, giant chunks of the ground being tossed around with ease, wings expanding across his field of view in the most spectacular display he’d ever seen. Just as his younger self collapse to the ground, Keith felt his conscienceless torn out of his dream and shot back into reality.

Sweat was clinging to his brow as his vision slowly came into focus. Keith was still hunched over, his chest heaving as he tried to fight through the growing panic that began to wreak havoc on his body. This was it. He’d just given them what they wanted.

In the back of his head, he felt something strange. Something he’d never experienced before. Slow waves of pure emotions were flowing into his mind. Faint glimpses of places he’d never been before coupled with a low hum that set his nerves at ease. This was the presence of the Red Lion.

“Who would have guessed? You had that inside you this whole time?”

Keith flinched at the sound of that familiar drawl. Lotor was staring at him with a pensive look on his face. The Galra prince tapped his chin with one long finger, head tilted to the side.

“I can see now why my father wanted to keep him around. Such an asset is invaluable to the Empire. Still, I have to admit my opinion of the Red Lion has diminished quite a bit.”

Next to him, Haggar seemed annoyed. “And why is that, your highness?”

“It seems curious that such a powerful being would choose someone as lowly as this to be its paladin.”

The presence in the back of his mind flared with anger. Keith let out a low growl, feeding off his lion’s rising temper.

“The reason he was chosen is not important, your highness,” Haggar commented. “What is important is that we can move on to the next phase and begin extracting the Red Quintessence.”

“Of course.” Lotor grinned at that, which made Keith shudder. Still, Red was in the back of his mind supplying the courage that he was sorely lacking at the moment. She was sharing her strength.

The Galra prince stepped forward, reaching Keith in just a few long strides. His yellow eyes were sparkling with an unknown fire that set Keith on edge.

“Been awhile, hasn’t it half breed?”

“Not nearly long enough,” Keith shot back.

“Oh, your little outbursts are so much fun. Too much fun. I am going to miss them.” Lotor yanked on Keith’s hair, holding his head in one place while his other hand went for the ring around Keith’s neck. “You won’t be needed this anymore. I do have to thank you for being our test subject. It’s still a bit too early to say, but someday all of the prisoners of the Galra Empire will be fitted with these clever little devices. Prison breaks will be a thing of the past.” 

Keith wiggled in the prince’s hold. He watched with wide eye as the ring was removed and handed off to a waiting Druid. The worst of his shackles had finally been removed.

“Aw, don’t go thinking that just because you’re free of my gift, you have a chance to make it out of here,” Lotor teased. He pat Keith’s cheek in a mocking manner before letting go of his hair and taking a step back. “Haggar and her Druids have prepared quiet the little surprise for you. It’d be rude to leave now.”

Even Red was getting anxious at this point. Keith tugged at the restraints binding his wrists and ankles to the chair. He watched as four more Druids appeared from behind their master and filtered out to surround Keith in his chair. His pulse quickened, fear causing his breaths to come in short gasps.

“Prince Lotor,” Haggar’s gaze didn’t leave Keith as she spoke, “would you like to stay to watch the process?”

“Of course. I’ve heard tales of your magic but never have seen it in person. That and this is a story I’m excited to see end.”

A small smirk appeared on the witches lips. “It will be a brilliant ending, I assure you.”

Haggar raised her arms, a movement mimicked perfectly by the Druids surrounding Keith. The frighten young Glara pulled hard on his restraints, so hard that he could feel his bones creak and skin break along the edges of the sharp metal. Tears were falling cold and heavy down his face as the magic became visible. With a simple nod from their leader, the Druids began their work

 Red was roaring in his head.

Lotor was smiling.

Keith was screaming. 

* * *

 

“The Galra ship is just on the other side of that moon, princess.” Coran had expertly maneuvered the ship into a large gap in the asteroid belt. The particle barrier was up just in case any stray rocks decided to head their way.

Lance shifted on his feet, his helmet under his arm. The paladin armor felt comfortable, minus the added weight. The prince half expected the gear to completely restrict his movements but this stuff was sleek and flexible, more so then some of the royal garb he used to wearing. All in all, it felt good.

Glancing from side to side, he could see that Hunk and Pidge took to their armor just as well as he did. Pidge was still marveling at her bayard, the small weapon it turned into was one the prince had seen used by some of the guards back on Altea. It was mesmerizing to watch the unassuming weapon take down a roomful of enemies. In the right hands, it was just as effective as a blaster.

Hunk on the other hand kept poking his armor. He’d bend his knees and rotate his arms, just to see how well it moved and flexed. Every once and a while he’d mutter something in fascination before moving on to inspect another part of the armor. If anything, the big guy seemed captivated by the ingenuity of the item and its ability to adapt to its wearer.

Lance smiled at his human friends. If they were impressed by this, then the two of them would be floored by all the stuff on Altea. All the more reason to grab Keith quickly so that they could begin working on winning back his home planet.

“Coran, contact the commander.” Allura spoke with all the authority of a queen. Lance couldn’t help but think it suited her.

“Right away, princess.” A few taps on his control panel and the call was sent out. It took a while for Thace to answer, but when he did he was as composed as ever.

“Princess Allura,” He greeted stiffly.

“We have come like you asked.” Allura’s voice was lacking the same edge it had earlier. Maybe she was still a little taken aback by the harshness of Thace’s last transmission.

“Good. I have managed to clear a cargo bay for you to land one of your Lions. It will be empty of guards for one varga. I will send you a map of the ship now.”

There was a beep and Coran nodded as he pulled up a map alongside the transmission.

“I will shut down the shield when you arrive, however I don’t have access to the scanners.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Allura assured. “Pidge, we’ll take the Green Lion. It’s cloaking technology will get us past the scanners.”

Lance could practically feel Thace’s relief. But there was still one problem that hadn’t been addressed yet. “What about Keith?” the prince asked. “That thing around his neck won’t let him leave the ship.”

“You are correct, however I found a solution. I managed to obtain a finger print from Lotor.”

“You lifted his finger print?” Pidge asked. “That’s… clever. Simple and yet effective.”

“Thank you,Green Paladin. I have already tested it on the other locks around the ship and it will work.”

“Then why haven’t you freed Keith yourself?”

At that, Thace tensed. “I was going to but…  Keith was not in his cell when I went to him.”

Lance felt a knot build in his throat. “Why not? Where is he?”

“I do not know for sure, but I will track him down by the time you arrive. Hurry, paladins. Much is riding on this. I will meet you in the hanger I’ve marked.”

Thace ended the transmission. Everyone was silent for just a moment and then they wen t into action. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge hurried to the Green Lion. Allura and Coran stayed with the Castle to protect the other lions and to be their getaway in case anything went wrong. Allura was the only one who could open a wormhole, after all.

The three paladins jumped into the Green Lion’s cockpit, and, without so much as a word, launched into outer space. Lance held on to the back of Pidge’s chair, his eyes never leaving the ship that had just appeared from behind one of the moons. At that moment it occurred to Lance for the first time that he was back home. The asteroid belt the Castle of Lions was hiding in was the same one he could see from his old bedroom window. The moons suspended in front of him were the same two he used to watch every single night. The prince actually gasped when he tore his attention away from the ship and looked at his planet for the first time in ages.

Whatever strange emotions he was feeling must have been noticeable. Hunk grasped his shoulder, following Lance’s gaze to the planet below.

“Is that… is that Altea?” he asked tentatively.

“Yeah.”

“It’s really pretty.”

“Even better on the surface.” He grinned. Lance tore his attention away from his planet and focused on the task at hand.

“Uh, is that a patrol ship?!” Hunk pointed at the ship, immediately tensing. 

“Shit,” Pidge huffed. “Don’t worry, I got this. Turning on cloaking now.”

Lance couldn’t tell if anything was different, but going by the fact that the patrol ship glided past them without so much as a twitch in their direction meant that they were safe. Pidge piloted her lion smoothly, following the map that Thace had provided them. Once they got closer, the shield flickered off, letting them glide into an open cargo hanger.

Lance was practically vibrating out of his skin. The more time passed, the less likely this moment seemed to be. But here he was, on this Galra ship again about to actually rescue his Keith. And this time, nothing was going to go wrong.

As soon as the Green Lion touched down, Lance was out of the cockpit and hurrying into the cargo bay. He kept his bayard in his hand as a precaution, not wanting to risk anything.

“Prince Lance,” A familiar voice called to him. Thace was near the entrance, looking a little out of breath. Lance hurried over.

“Did you find him?” Lance skipped right to the point. Behind him, he could hear Pidge and Hunk running up.

“Yes, but we have to hurry. He’s been with the Druids for nearly two hours.” Thace turned and lead them deeper into the ship.

“What’s a Druid?” Pidge asked once they were on their way.

“Galra who practice ancient arts that have donned the name magic. They have frightening power that they use to experiment on technology and living beings alike.”

Lance felt his heart speed up at the word experiment. Not for the first time, he wondered just what Keith had gone through during his stay here.

Thace began to slow, holding up his hand to signal the rest to stop. They paused at a fork in the hall, a giant glowing emblem in front of them. The three paladins tensed and Lance could practically hear Hunk’s teeth chattering.

With blinding speed, Thace leaped around the corner and went on the offensive. He deftly dodged a swipe aimed for his head and latched onto the fist that was originally intended for him. Thace yanked the attacker’s arm behind him and shoved him hard into the wall.

Lance knew he was nowhere near capable of taking someone down like that. Regardless he pulled out his bayard and felt it shift into its glossy blaster form. He set his aim on the attacker, ready to put him down if need be. What he didn’t expect as for Thace to let him go.

“Ulaz?” the commander stepped back, staring at the taller Galra with confusion. “What are you doing here? I told you I was going to handle this.”

“I know.” Ulaz rubbed his arm, not looking the least bit perturbed that he had two blasters and an electrified grappling hook aimed at him.

Thace frowned. “Go back to your position. We can’t afford to lose two of the Blade today.”

“And the Blade can’t afford to lose you,” Ulaz said firmly. “Your position in the Empire is of more value. The information you gather has been vital to our cause. If you were to be caught helping Voltron, it would be a blow that we may not recover from. Whereas I am just a physician. Any use my position might have had is long since over.”

“Ulaz-“

“I will take the paladins to the little one. I will make sure that he is safe. But, I also intend to free the human.”

Both Pidge and Hunk lowered their weapons.

“ _Human_? There are humans here?” The young girl’s voice pitched. She stepped forward, all the valor in the universe boiling behind her eyes. “How many humans? Do you know where they were picked up? Do any of them look like me?”

Ulaz looked down at the youngest paladin, a little surprised to be addressed so ferociously. He glanced at Thace for a moment before speaking. “There is only one human here, Green Paladin. And no, he does not look like you.”

Pidge physically deflated, her gaze dropping to the floor. Lance noticed her hands clenched and shaking. Ulaz cleared his throat.

“There are prison records kept on this ship. We will pass a control room on our way. If you can be quick and inconspicuous they are yours. Though I suggest someone go with you.”

“I can do it.” Hunk stepped forward, looking short compared to the two Galra. “I’ll watch your back, Pidge.”

“Thanks Hunk.”

But it seemed that the earlier argument still wasn’t over. Thace directed Ulaz’s attention back to him. “I’m not going to sit idly by. I promised Keith that I would come back for him. I need to make sure he’s okay.”

The desperation in his voice was hard to miss. Lance finally lowered his bayard and studied the commander with a sharp eye. The first thought that came to mind was the same as when Thace first contacted them; his eyes were nearly the same color as Keith’s. Dark, but still a shimmering amber color that, compared to other Galra, looked vastly different. He was tall, not nearly so as Ulaz, and had ears that were much fluffier that most other Galra. Most, except for one.

 _No… could this guy be related to Keith?_ The prince sputtered at the thought, wondering if it really was that simple.

Ulaz looked conflicted but finally gave up. “I supposed there is no sense in arguing. We’re wasting too much time as it is. Stay near the back. If we are spotted it’d be best if you were last of us they see.”

“Agreed. Now let’s hurry.”

The group continued to move with Thace taking up position behind the three paladins. For the most part, the halls seemed to be empty. There were a few small security drones patrolling some of the corridors but with on click from the remote in Thace’s hands, the lights on the drones flickered out and they fell to the ground.

Lance was slowly recognizing the different halls. His first trip on this ship he was running at full speed towards the tracking signal that radiated off of the other earring. He was impressed that anything from that first time stuck at all. He had been in a bit of a blind frenzy at the time, and was doing remarkably well keeping that panic down now. But with every step, Lance could feel a mixture of worry and excitement build in his chest.

They were prepared for this. Prepared to get Keith out safely. In just a few moments, he was going to see him again, hug him, and tell him everything that Lance had been thinking over the last few months. The thought of finally being able to do all of that was overwhelming and it made Lance run a little faster than before.

Ulaz had slowed, pointed and said something over his shoulder. Lance didn’t pay too much attention as Hunk and Pidge disappeared into a nearby room. Silently, Lance hoped that whatever was in there would help Pidge find her family.

The prince and the two Galra continued on, slowing as they approached a wide hall that came to a dead end. There were doors, dozens of doors on either side of the hall. Lance was breathing hard from all the running, but he couldn’t care less. They were here. They finally made it.

Keith was behind one of these doors.

“Come.” Thace motioned for Lance to follow. Next to them, Ulaz waited until they passed before stepping into another room. There were voices in that room, a man yelling with another calmer voice talking over him reading out measurements of some kind. Next there was a loud thunk followed by the telltale sound of something breaking. Ulaz clearly was holding back when Thace had pinned him earlier.

Lance didn’t care what was happening in the other room. With each step he took his brain scream at him that this was it. Keith was here. He was going to get Keith.

_Keith. Keith. Keith. Keith. Keith._

“Here,” Thace spoke quietly.

Lance froze, his hands shaking at his side. Swallowing down a lump of nerves and excitement, Lance summoned his bayard. He stood in front of the door, ready to shoot if a Galra, a druid or even Lotor himself stood in the way of him reaching Keith. He breathed out, calming himself before nodding to Thace.

The commander opened the door.

Lance had his weapon ready to fire. He looked around quickly, focusing on everything for just a second before moving on. The room was empty save for one figure sitting in the center.

“Keith!” Lance nearly threw his bayard to the side, fumbling with his helmet all the while. He dropped the two on the ground and kneeled down in front of Keith. The young Galra was slumped over in some intimidating looking chair. His wrists and ankles bound by thick metal clamps. Lance ignored those, knowing full well that he couldn’t do anything about it.

Lance focused on Keith, who hadn’t responded to hearing his name. The prince cupped his face, lifting it gently. His face looked thin and sallow, dark circles were pressed under his eyes and his ears were hanging lower than normal. The prince swallowed.

“Keith? Keith c’mon… time to wake up and be rescued,” He said with a small smile.

Nothing.  Lance ignored the panic that planted itself in the back of his mind. Behind him he heard the hum of a holo screen and a few seconds later the clamps on Keith’s wrists and ankles slid back into the chair.

With one hand, Lance gently rubbed circles into one of Keith’s palms. “That’s better, right? Right Keith? Tell me that’s better. Come on, Keith. Wake up.”

He didn’t so much as flinch. Thace appeared at his side, taking Keith’s other hand and squeezing. The commander was suddenly breathing very hard. “No…”

“ _No_ …? No what?” Lance asked the panic finally beginning to grab hold of his mind. Thace didn’t answer. He pushed Lance out of the way and wrapped his arms around Keith’s limp body. He hoisted the young Galra out of the chair with ease and lay him down on the cold metal floor. “Th-Thace? Thace, he’s okay right? He’s just p-passed out, right?”

Thace still wasn’t saying anything. He had a hand on Keith’s chest and another two fingers pressed just below his jaw. Lance stared at the rise and fall of Thace’s hand. The motion was so slow, agonizingly slow. Like Keith was breathing in slow motion. But still, he was breathing. That meant that he was alive and he was okay. Right?

The commander then laid his head on Keith’s chest, his ears angling to hear what Lance assumed was a heartbeat. Thace let out a shaky sigh before sitting up and focusing his gaze on the unconscious Galra. He reached up and brushed a few stray locks out of Keith’s face and spoke with the most disheartened tone Lance had ever heard.

“I- I’m sorry, little one. I’m so, _so_ sorry…”

The finality of those words made Lance freeze. He stared at Thace, the commander clutching on to Keith’s hand and absently running his hands through that dark hair. The look in his eyes… it was like he was mourning. In Lance’s eyes there was nothing to mourn. Keith was breathing, he was _alive_. So what in the hell was Thace doing?

“What are you talking about?” Lance spat, frustrated beyond belief. “Keith’s _fine_. He just needs to wake up.”

Without waiting for Thace to respond, Lance grabbed Keith’s shoulders and started shaking.  “Wake up Keith, rise and shine! Prove to this quiznaking  Galra that you’re not dead!”

He was shouting. Much louder than what was safe. But Lance didn’t care, he had a point to prove. Keith didn’t respond not even so much as a flinch as Lance jostled him around. The panic was beginning to make its way to his chest.

“Come _on_ , Keith! Just wake up already!” Still nothing.

Lance’s hand was balled in to the fabric of Keith’s shirt. It was the same piece of tattered uniform that Lance had last seen his guard wearing. There was still old blood stains and a large tear from where he was injured all that time ago. A lifetime ago.

The Altean prince kept shouting, kept shaking. He did everything he could to try and rouse the comatose young Galra. But Keith did nothing. Nothing at all. It really was almost like he was dead. Lance nearly felt the urge to slap Keith. His desperation was reaching an alarming level and he just wanted Keith to open his damn eyes.

_Why isn’t he opening his eyes?_

Lance jumped as a hand grasped onto his shoulder. He didn’t even notice the tears that were trailing down his face until he moved. Thace was looking at him, his eyes glistening from unshed tears.

“Your highness… we’re too late.”

* * *

 

Red. The only thing he saw was red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay they're together! Thats good right? Right? 
> 
> Yeah, I'm expecting a lot of incoherent shrieking after this. Whelp just remember that their is a happy ending! Somewhere! In the distance! (i promise.)
> 
> Thanks for reading and sorry for any shattered hearts. I'm already working on the next chapter so hopefully I won't leave y'all hanging for too long. 
> 
> <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to come up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short (ish) update this time around. This is another one of my 'build the tension' chapters before bigger stuff happens. Hope you enjoy and of course shout out to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for being my beta.

Lance’s throat felt raw. Like he tried to swallow a mouthful of sharp rocks and somehow succeeded. It made sense, of course. He had spent the better part of the last day shouting at everything he could.

This was a part of the castle he had never been to before. Even when the ship was grounded on Altea, he never had the need to go to the medical wing. Neither he nor any members of his family were ever in that desperate need of medical attention, and it wasn’t exactly the place a child would run to when exploring.

The walls were white and cold, the lights above them practically blinding. Lance had asked Coran to turn them down, but even at half their brightness it still felt like too much. Everything felt like too much.

There were machines on rollers and cabinets built into the walls. The machines sat idle while only a few random supplies were taken from inside the cabinets. There wasn’t too much to be done at this point.

The prince hadn’t moved from his spot in well over an hour. Possibly longer than that. Time sort of didn’t matter anymore. Not to him anyway.

The hard plastic chair he was sitting on wasn’t made for comfort; it was made to be practical just like everything else in this room. Just like the bed that Keith was currently lying on.

Lance had laced his fingers together with Keith’s, imagining what it would be like if the Galra were to squeeze his hand back. The prince was constantly waiting for something like that. For some sort of reaction to prove that Thace and Ulaz were wrong. To prove that Keith was alright. But nothing happened. Keith just lay there, still as the stars outside the window.  

Looking at his former bodyguard now, Lance could see just how much he’d been through. Not only was his face thin, but the rest of his body as well. Lying in new set clothes, Lance noticed how small he seemed. What was once healthy and somewhat intimidating muscle was almost completely gone. His arms and chest were no longer well defined, and the slightest hint of ribs was visible underneath his shirt. According to the human they also rescued, none of that was enough to stop Keith from fighting back.

Shiro had been Keith’s cellmate for a time, and it seemed like the two had become friends. From the short interaction Lance had with him, he seemed like a good person. How he ended up on a Galra ship was still a mystery to the young prince, but he wasn’t too interested in it at the moment.

Around Keith’s wrists were bandages that covered healing cuts. No one said as much, but from the look of the injuries they appeared to be from the chair they found him strapped down to. Like he was struggled so hard to get free from the binds that Keith managed to hurt himself doing so. Lance was sure that if they remove the fur there and they would have seen deep, dark bruises there as well.

One thing that was strange was the fact that the ring that had nearly choked the life out of him was missing. When they initially began to move Keith to get him off of that ship, it was the first thing Lance checked. But the evil little device was gone, leaving only a slight indent where it used to sit. Lance wasn’t too sure what prompted Lotor to remove the device, but it sort of felt like a taunt. Like maybe Lotor took it off right before Keith went unconscious to lower his moral even more. The prince wouldn’t put it past the cruel Galra.

Lance watched the steady rise and fall of Keith’s chest, trying to match it with his own breathing only to realize that it was frustratingly slow. The young Galra was lying so peacefully it almost looked like he was asleep. Dark hair fanned out on the pillow, lips parted ever so slightly; Lance remembered a time not so long ago that he wanted to see Keith look as serene as this, to catch him completely off guard when he was at his most relaxed.  Now he wanted nothing more to just see Keith move, to hear him speak. Lance wanted so desperately to see those amber eyes alert and open and –

He just wanted Keith to _wake up_.

During all of his inner turmoil and intense focus on the figure lying in front of him, the prince didn’t notice the door opening behind him.

“Your highness?”

Lance turned slightly, recognizing the voice. “You don’t have to be so formal. You can call me Lance.”

Shiro nodded, taking a few steps forward. “I came to see how he’s doing. How the both of you were doing.”

The human strode around Keith’s bed to the opposite side. The hardened look on his face as he glanced at the unconscious form on the bed could only be compared to sorrow. Shiro grabbed a nearby chair and sat near the edge of the bed. Lance couldn’t help but stare at the metal right arm he sported that was clearly Galra tech.

The look didn’t go unnoticed. “I still have a hard time looking away from it too. It’s… strange.” He held up his metal hand and flexed the fingers one by one.

“What happened?” Lance asked, his throat still a little rough.

“It was the Druids. At least, I think it was.” He furrowed his brow, looking a little irritated.

“You think?”

“Honestly, my head’s been kind of fuzzy lately. Bits and pieces of my memory are just gone. I know that they took my arm, I just don’t remember when or how or even really how I got this new one. Everything else I can remember fine. But when it comes to _them_ … nothing. Its- it’s kind of terrifying.”

Lance felt a pang of sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

Shiro shook his head. “I should be saying that to you. And to him.”

“What? But why?” The prince didn’t understand. He had barely just met Shiro. The man hadn’t done anything that warranted an apology. And it wasn’t like he was in a position to save Keith before everything went wrong. Shiro was also a prisoner too at the time.

“I should have done something. When they came for us.” The human was gripping the edge of Keith’s bed, his eyes down. “When I came back to our cell after they took my arm, Keith fought for me. He attacked the guards and really gave them a run for their money.” He chuckled, the smile not quiet reaching his eyes. “When they finally got him under control, one of the guards found the earring you gave him. The bastard crushed it, right in front of Keith. He looked so… so _devastated_.”

“…so that’s what happened.” Lance held on to Keith’s hand a little tighter. “For a moment there, I thought he was gone.”

“What do you mean?”

Lance unhooked his own earring with his free hand and explained. “The jewels have a tracking device in them. I kind of forgot about it when I first gave it to Keith, but it turned out to be a lucky break when we were trying to find him. I watched the signal every so often and then the other night it just… went out.”

Shiro nodded in understanding. “Did Keith know it was a tracker?”

“I don’t think so. I told him to hang onto it, that it help me find him the first time but didn’t get much chance to explain all the details.”

The silence after that was a heavy one. Lance never liked the quiet and always made a point to fill it somehow. Right now, that desire was gone in favor of listening to the shallow breathing of his Galra companion. The prince hoped that if he listened hard enough, then maybe he’d hear something different. A change in the steady rhythm of air passing Keith’s lips. His hearing was nowhere near as good as a Galra’s, but he’d noticed that it was better than the average humans. Maybe if he was quiet enough, still enough, he’d see something change. So far, that theory was incorrect.

“You know, I really don’t understand what’s going on.” Shiro murmured. Lance looked up, unsure if he should say anything. So much of what was happening must have been shockingly new to the human. Lance just wondered which part Shiro was talking about.

Eventually, the prince decided to ask. “Understand what, exactly?”

“What’s happening with Keith,” he said bluntly. There was a thread of frustration in his tone. “It’s clear that he’s alive; his heart’s beating strong, he’s breathing, and there’s no serious damage anywhere on his body. But still, he won’t wake up.”

Lance sighed. “I don’t really get it all either… but from what I understand, without his quintessence, Keith will never wake up. That much I do know. I just… I just don’t know how the Druids managed to take it from him in the first place. It seems impossible.”

“Why did they take it?”

“Because of the Red Lion. Keith is the Red Paladin and they wanted to control at least one part of Voltron to keep the good guys from using it against them.”

“The good guys… you mean you, right? All of you.”

Lance nodded, although he didn’t really feel much like he deserved to be grouped with Allura and the others at this moment. Hell, he didn’t even feel like he was a particularly good person right now. Lance had spent the better part of their ride back to the castle yelling at Thace for not being able to protect Keith. It was technically out of the commander’s hands, seeing that at the time they had no way to get Keith to safety what with that ring around his neck, but at that moment Lance didn’t care. Despite all the help he’d given them, Lance still blamed Thace for what happened and took out his anger on the commander.

With that in mind, Lance turned his attention back to Shiro, “have you seen Thace? I’m kind of surprised he has come in here.”

“He left a couple hours ago. Ulaz managed to sneak him back onto the Galra ship with one of the escape pods you have.”

“He left? Why?”

“Apparently he and Ulaz are a part of some sort of underground Galra organization. They aim to take down Zarkon and Lotor and to bring peace back to the Galra. They lack the means to do so right now and instead are focusing more on information and stalling the Empire in any little way they can. I guess Thace’s position on the ship is important and he needed to get back before anyone noticed he was missing.” Shiro paused and waited until Lance looked at him. “Ulaz said that Thace was going to do everything he can to find the Red Quintessence.”

Lance felt his breath hitch. “He… he did? But why? I mean- not that I don’t want him to, it’s just… he seems pretty keen on helping us. On helping Keith, actually. I just- I wonder what his story is.”

“Well, I don’t know too much, but from what I overheard, Thace is Keith’s uncle.”

“He what?!” Lance practically shouted. The sudden outburst irritated his throat and left him coughing for a few minutes. Once his little episode died down, Lance tried to wrap his head around this new piece of information. “Wait, hold on a tick, Keith is related to Thace? But I thought Keith didn’t have any family?”

Shiro shrugged. “I’m not sure if he knew. He never said anything to me about it.”

The prince deflated, resting his chin on the edge of the bed. Now he felt even guiltier for taking his anger out on Thace. If he was really Keith’s uncle, the he had much more of a right to be sad and angry then Lance did. After all, the prince didn’t even know where he stood with the young Galra; what their relationship even was.

He began to mumble into the crook of his elbow. “There’s too much of that going on.”

“Too much of what going on?”

“Too much… not knowing things. Too much of people not saying everything that’s on their minds or leaving out something that might be important later. Too much… too _many_ unspoken words. So much that needed to be said. So much that I _wanted_ to say…”

Not for the first time, Lance could feel the sting of tears in his eyes. He was actually surprised that he had any left at all, but crying had proved to be the thing he was best at. Crying and letting Keith down.

Shiro pushed himself up from his chair and brought it to the young prince’s side. He sat close enough to be a comfort, but far enough away so that Lance didn’t feel smothered. A hand, Shiro’s real hand, grasped his shoulder.

“You know, Keith talked about you. A lot. Because of that, I knew who you were long before anyone told me.”

Lance glanced over, watching the human from the corner of his watery eyes. Shiro kept talking.

“It took a little while for him to actually talk to me about how he ended up there, but when he did well… the way he spoke about you was different.”

“Different how?”

“I guess you could say he sounded happy. Every time he said your name –I don’t know, it was just unlike any expression I had seen on him before. I could tell just how much he cares about you. And I can also tell how much you care for him.”

The prince felt a small grin on the corners of his mouth. It made him feel all warm inside, knowing that Keith had talked about him to someone else. Not only that, but it sounded like Keith spoke of him affectionately. As affectionately as the straight faced, easily flustered Galra boy could. Lance could just imagine the dark flush on his cheeks and the way his amber eyes would flit about, never making eye contact until the awkward moment had passed. Or even the way his ears would twitch and move, almost acting on their own as they perfectly summed up the emotions Keith was so good at keeping in check. If he closed his eyes, Lance could see it all, clear as day.

Of course when he opened his eyes, reality way lying motionless in front of him. Lance felt more tears well up in his eyes.

“I just… I just wish we’d been quicker. I wish that we could have gotten there in time.”

“I know.” Shiro sighed. “But we can’t change what’s already happened, highness. We can only move forward. We will find the Red Quintessence and when we do, we’ll use it to wake Keith up. I know that with all of us, we can do it.”

“You really think so?” Lance asked, his voice a little shaky.

“I do.”

“Hey, Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. I’m… I’m glad Keith met you. And I’m really glad that you’re here with us now.”

Shiro smiled. “Me too.”

The pair sat quietly, keeping watch over the young Galra in front of them. Lance wasn’t too sure how, but Shiro had somehow managed to lift his mood considerably. While their situation was a hard one, Shiro had managed to give him hope. He pried open the dungeon Lance had resigned himself to and pulled him up out of the darkness, sending him off in the right direction all the while. This man sort of reminded him of Allura in a way. Strong, no matter the circumstances and a natural leader. It truly was lucky that ran into this human.

The doors behind them slid open, Coran, Allura, and Ulaz all filtering in.

The advisor approached Lance slowly, seemingly mulling over his words as he did so. “Prince Lance, we have to move Keith into one of the cryopods. We need to maintain his health until we’re able to get our hands on the Red Quintessence.”

Lance nodded. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

While his body might be fit and fine now, there was no telling what could happen in the future. A cryopod was the only thing that would ensure Keith’s health and safety. However, the idea of putting Keith into one of those pods left the prince feeling uncomfortable. Not being able to touch Keith, to run his hands through that dark hair or intertwine their fingers, it felt like Lance was losing him all over again. With the pod’s thick, clear glass separating them, Keith once again became something unreachable.

Lance shook his head, once again coming to terms with the situation at hand. Out of the pod, in the pod, it didn’t matter. Keith wouldn’t wake up until the stole back the Red Quintessence. Only then would things be okay again. Only then, would the two of them have a chance.

Shiro stood and stepped back, giving Lance a somewhat private moment. The prince moved slowly, trying to memorize the feel of Keith’s hand in his own. It felt a little strange, not nearly as warm as he remembered. Lance unlaced their fingers and stood, brushing back a few of Keith’s wild bangs while he did so. He almost laughed thinking back to those first few weeks when Keith actually took the time to sweep his bangs back and out of his face. The look didn’t suit him at all, and Lance was ecstatic when the Galra had fallen out of that habit. The slightly disheveled state of his hair now was much more Keith.

“Guess this is kind of like a goodbye again. I don’t know if you’ll be able to hear me when you’re in the cryopod. I don’t even know if you can hear me now, but I’d like to think you can.” Despite knowing that everyone’s eyes were on him, Lance leaned down and pressed his forehead against Keith’s. “We’re going to find a way to wake you up, Keith. And when we do, I’m going to finally tell you everything. Everything I’ve wanted to say ever since I gave you that earring. Speaking of which,”

Lance leaned back and removed the little gem from his own ear. He gently clipped it at the base of one of Keith’s fluffy ears and smiled.

“It looks better on you then it does on me.” Lance pressed a quick kiss to Keith’s forehead, savoring the feel of such an intimate action. “I’ll see you soon.”

He held on for a moment longer and then left. Lance had to physically push himself away from Keith’s bedside. Everything in him wanted to stay a second longer, to kiss him again on his forehead, on the back on his hand, on his lips. But a moment here meant a moment lost trying to fix this situation. It was like Shiro said, they couldn’t change what happened. The only thing they could do was continue on.

Coran and Ulaz moved forward and Lance decided he didn’t want to stay. If he did, he might lose this momentum he had going. Allura followed, Shiro trailing a few steps behind them.

“Where are Pidge and Hunk?” the young prince asked, stretching the stiffness from his back.

“Pidge is analyzing the data she found on that ship. So far she hasn’t found anything concerning her family, but she’s also looking for any signs of the Red Quintessence. If they moved it to another ship recently, she will know. Hunk is in the control room. I thought it best to have someone there at all times in case Thace decides to contact us again.”

Lance nodded. His sister was always thinking ahead.

“What are you going to do, Lance?” she asked. Allura’s voice sounded confident, but Lance knew when she was worried, and right now all that concern was aimed at him.

“I’m going to join Hunk. I don’t really feel like sitting around, but I can’t really think of anything else to do.”

“You could always go to the training deck? Get some target practice in?”

“Maybe later. I- I don’t really feel like being alone right now.”

At that, Allura latched onto his sleeve and pulled him to a stop. “Lance… do you want to talk? I know you’ve been through much in the past few days and well… I feel like I haven’t done my best to help you recently.”

“It’s okay ‘lura, you kind of have a whole ship to run and giant, robot lions to find-“

“Yes, but your my brother. My family. The only part I have left. You take priority in any situation.”

Lance stuttered, overwhelmed by the sheer tenacity in her tone. After gaping for a few seconds, Lance cracked a smile. “Thanks, sis, really. But you don’t have to worry. You’re always there when I need you, so you don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

“Are you sure? It’s just that –“

“Allura, calm down. When I need you, I’ll come find you.” He placed his hand over his sister’s and smiled. After a moment or two longer, Allura smiled back.

“Alright, if that’s the case…“ Allura turned abruptly. “Shiro, if you would, there are some things I would like to talk to you about.”

The human jumped a little. Lance had completely forgotten that he was there at all. It must have been a little awkward standing in the background while the two siblings had their moment.

“Of course, princess. I’d be happy to help in any way.”

Allura nodded and glanced at her little brother once more before leaving with Shiro down the hall.

In all honestly, Lance probably did need to talk to his sister. He felt overwhelmed both by everything that had happened and by his own emotions dealing with it all. But he was determined to remain at least a little positive. If he didn’t, then Keith would remain asleep forever and Lance couldn’t stand that thought. He owed it to the young Galra to stay strong through all this; to fight.

After years and years of not feeling good enough, of not feeling special, the young prince had come to realize that those feelings of inadequacy were only going to grow if he continued to sit around and do nothing.

This wasn’t going to be something he’d wait and let others take care of. This wasn’t going to be one of those situations where he talked himself out of it because he was afraid of messing up. This was Keith. Keith’s wellbeing, his very life was on the line. Any semblance of doubt he had was flung out of the nearest airlock and replaced with a set determination he’d never felt before.

Now wasn’t the time to doubt himself. Now was the time to be strong.  

* * *

 

It couldn’t have gotten far. By his count it had been 38 hours since Haggar had extracted the Red Quintessence. Thace rewound the security footage, looking for the path Lotor and Haggar took when leaving the interrogation room. It was a bit strange if he was being honest. The large canister used to hold the quintessence was covered, secured to a hover cart surrounded by multiple Druids. It wasn’t being flanked by any of the normal guards and none of them who passed seem at all remotely interested in what was under that cover.

In retrospect, it was probably because none of them knew the importance of it. They didn’t even know why Keith was kept here in the first place. The only reason Thace knew was because he was the one who found Keith the day he connected with the Red Lion. He was one of a handful of Galra to know what made Keith so important to their leader.   

All thoughts of serving the Blade had fallen by the wayside. Right now, his only motivation was Keith. His nephew had suffered far too much for someone so young, and Thace was ready to do whatever it took to make things right again. Prince Lance’s harsh words were still ringing in his ears, unlikely to ever fully disappear.

_“You were supposed to protect him! To stop something like this from happening! Keith trusted you and you- you let him down. This is all your fault!”_

Thace’s attention had slipped away from screen in front of him. His hands were shaking where they rested on the keyboard. He knew the prince was just reacting to the terrible situation. He knew that the prince just needed someone to take his frustrations out on. All those things aside, Thace couldn’t help but feel some semblance of truth in those words.

Keith was his responsibility, his family, and he had failed. If his sister were here right now, she would have shoved him in a pod and sent him flying off to nowhere, picking him up only when her temper finally subsided. The thought was almost comical.

Thace watched the security footage play out, keeping track of where Haggar and Lotor were heading. The first thing they would have done was inform Emperor Zarkon of their success. He watched the small precession as they made their way to the control deck where they contacted Zarkon on the large holo screen.

The Emperor spent nearly all of his time on Altea, even though more than half of the castle was currently soaring through space. In the empty space it left behind, Zarkon had begun to build a new castle in its place, one that looked almost identical to place he had back on their home planet. The few hundred Alteans that weren’t so lucky to escape during the takeover of the planet were forced to build this new palace with hardly any time to do anything else. It was only one thing on a list of travesties the Galra Empire took part in.

The conversation with the Emperor was brief, from what he could tell. For some reason, the audio hadn’t recorded so Thace was left trying to read lips whenever he could. Zarkon seemed pleased that the job was finally done, and also not so pleased when he learned of Ulaz’s betrayal. Thace had already received the ship wide message about the act of treason and, like all other Galra, was ordered to shoot on sight if Ulaz was ever spotted.

This news didn’t frighten him. All members of the Blade were prepared to make the necessary sacrifices, and this was just a small inconvenience. Ulaz was more than capable of staying hidden.

The security footage kept playing, Thace watching as Haggar left with the quintessence, leaving Lotor behind with his father still on the screen behind him. The Galra prince was watching the hover cart that held the quintessence intensely, long after the door had closed behind it. Zarkon must have said something to draw his attention away and the prince continued the conversation with his father.

Logically the Red Quintessence would stay with Haggar. She was the one who figured out how to extract it, and would mostly likely already have a few candidates selected to received its power. The only thing left was the Emperor’s approval of said nominee. But something was gnawing at that line of reasoning. Something making him doubt that conclusion, and that something was Prince Lotor.

It was no secret to anyone just how much Lotor despised Keith. When his nephew defected in such a brilliant manner all that time ago, Lotor’s carefully laid out plans had been thrown off course and he  was left scrambling to try and fix things. The Galra prince was incredibly conceited when it came down to it and to have one of his pawns change the game completely was a blow he never expected.

Lotor never was much of a powerful presence to the Galra, but he worked tirelessly to change that. Keith ruined any progress he might have made on Altea, and the prince wasn’t about to let that grudge go. Judging by the way the prince eyed the quintessence when it left, he still wasn’t finished tormenting Keith.

Thace frowned, pushing aside the growing fear in his chest and focusing on things one at a time. First he had to find the Red Quintessence and make a plan to steal it back. Whatever scheme was brewing in the Galra prince’s mind was not important. Thace was going to take back what they stole long before Lotor could act on any of his plans.

Thace honed in on Haggar, ignoring the other screen which was still displaying the conversation between the Emperor and prince. Instead he watched as the witch and her Druids moved the quintessence to a secure location behind several heavily locked doors. While he didn’t have security clearance on that level, Lotor certainly did. Using the fingerprint he managed to copy from the prince should get him access to that room. Now all he had to do was organize with Voltron on getting in and –

The distinct heavy footsteps a patrol made his hand twitch. Thace cursed as sound suddenly started blaring from the screen. He quickly turned down the volume, ready to conceal what he was doing in a flash. The patrol passed without a single hint of hesitation. Either they didn’t hear the commander’s slip up or they didn’t care.

Thace breathed a sigh of relief at his narrow escape. Turning back to the screen, Thace realized that the sound was coming from video of Lotor speaking to Zarkon. His curiosity burning, Thace rewound the tape and watched the conversation from the beginning.

“The candidates Haggar mentioned will do well,” Zarkon’s voice rumbled clearly over the speaker. “All of them have proved loyal to the empire. Perhaps a test of strength is order to decide who the best choice would be. A battle to the death, last one standing wins.”

“If I may,” Lotor turned to his father, his voice heavy with respect, “I think I know of another who might meet your standards.”

“Oh? And who would that be?”

“Myself.”

Thace gasped at the princes words. Was Lotor actually suggesting this?

Zarkon’s gaze narrowed. “You? You want to be imbued with the Red Quintessence? What makes you think you are the best choice?”

“You and I are well aware that I am better than any pilot in the fleet. My skills in combat, both armed and unarmed, are unparalleled. I rank better than any candidate Haggar could round up.” Lotor strode closer to the screen, standing tall and confident. “My loyalties will never come in to question. I promise you will find no one more perfect then your own blood.”

“You really think so? If I recall, you’ve disagreed with my plans more than once since you’ve been back.”

“Disagreed, yes, but I always followed them, if you remember. I can’t help but ask questions and make suggestions. All I want to do is better the Galra Empire and that is my way of doing so.”

Zarkon fell silent, his glowing eyes staring intently at his son in front of him. It seemed like he was actually considering Lotor’s suggestion. Thace felt the tips of his claws sting his palms. His fist had been clenched so tight it was likely he would draw blood.

Seemingly sensing his father’s hesitation, Lotor continued to speak. “I can promise you, Father. No one will make better use of the Red Quintessence. Even the most powerful warrior in your army couldn’t dream of the things I could do with this power. The Red Lion will fly like she never has before, and tear down any who even think of standing in your way. Trust me, Father. I can do this.”

The emperor closed his eyes, the corner of his lips curling. “A year ago, I wouldn’t have even wasted my time listening to your proposition. Your conniving mind was one I never truly understood. But after the events on Altea and all that you’ve done thus far, I can see the value in all your plotting. Yours is a rare intelligence that has been beneficial to me.”

Lotor was practically beaming under the praise. Honestly, it was probably the first he’d ever received from his father.

“But I am no fool, Lotor.” Zarkon’s tone flipped back to that of a terrifying ruler. “I know you have your own plans for this power, goals you think this will help you achieve. While you are loyal to the empire, your vision of what it should be does not line up with mine. So no, you are not the best choice to receive this power. I will not give it to you.”

“Father –“

“We will talk no more about this. Your standing in this empire should be clear by now.”

The Galra prince was seething, his tall form actually shaking with rage. Without another word, Lotor spun around and stomped out of the room, the transmission from his father cut off as soon as he departed.

Thace breathed a sigh of relief. If Zarkon had actually considered Lotor’s plans, they could have already begun the process of giving it to the selfish prince. At least now they had time. Thace add the location of the quintessence on a map and then sent it off to Voltron, hoping they would know what the information meant. He couldn’t afford to send a clear message to them, only this scrambled signal that held the map buried in the lines of code. If anything, Ulaz would recognize this means of communication, it was his favorite way to send information off to the Blade.

Thace erased his history, making sure that there was no trace of him left behind. Once satisfied, he turned to leave, ready to go about his duties as a commander and keep up his charade. Unfortunately, he didn’t get too far.

As soon as the door opened, Thace was greeted with the sight of the Galra prince. Lotor was leaning on the wall opposite the door, his arms crossed and a knowing look in his eye.

“Well hello, commander.”

Thace kept his face passive. He wasn’t caught yet. After all, he had every right to be in this control room. He bowed his head, a hand coming up to his chest as he did so. “Prince Lotor, I did not realize you were outside. Did you perhaps need me for something?”

Lotor tilted his head. “Yes, actually. I do need you.”

“What can I help you with, your highness?” Something was off about the prince. The lilt in his voice, his casual and calm demeanor. And then there were his eyes. His eyes…  when he looked away… they looked… they almost looked _red_.

“I need you to tell me what you sent to your little friends. What message did you send to Voltron?”

Thace tensed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A playful grin found its way to the prince’s lips. “Honestly, I don’t actually know if that’s what you were doing, it only seems logical given all the information I just received. So many amazing things I’d never known if I hadn’t just went ahead and taken what I wanted. What I deserved.”

 _Information?_ Thace was scrambling trying to keep up with this rambling.

“Oh, and the power. Such rich, vibrant power. And this is only a fourth of what we collected. I can’t imagine how the whole lot of it will feel coursing through my veins. It’s a curious thing, this quintessence. It’s almost like… like a surge of adrenaline that never dies down. And all these thoughts… these feelings left behind… it’s like diving into a treasure trove.”

All his composure gone, Thace was trembling from head to toe. _No… this- this isn’t happening…_

“You know, I always thought that pathetic little Keith had help from someone on this ship. After Ulaz absconded, I thought it must have been him. Turns out I was wrong. Seems his dear old uncle couldn’t leave his little nephew alone.”

“How do _you_ know that?” Thace practically hissed. Fury was pooling in his gut and his hands were just itching to wrap themselves around that infuriatingly haughty prince.

“Quintessence is a remarkable substance. It seems that memories are linked to it as well. Quite the charming side effect, getting to see just how much my little gift tormented him. In case you were wondering, he was convinced that you would save him. Even when Haggar took him the last time, he still thought you were going to come. Looks like he was wrong to put his trust in you.”

It took everything Thace had not to lunge at the prince. Instead, he took the high road.

In a hidden pocket on his uniform, Thace pulled out a small capsule and threw it on the ground. Immediately the corridor was filled with a thick, white fog. Thace bolted, a hand covering his mouth as he ran as fast as he could. Behind him, he could hear Lotor was sputtering, coughing and stumbling blindly.

Thace fought every urge in his body to just keep moving forward. He wanted to tear that stupid prince apart for everything he said, for everything he’d done. Somehow he had managed to bypass Zarkon and possibly even Haggar, to steal part of the Red Quintessence for himself. That bastard was more determined then Thace originally thought.

Hurrying around the corner, Thace wasted no time in heading for the nearest escape pod. He passed confused guards and a few security drones along the way without a problem. Just as he reached the pods, the alarm blared.

Thace paid it no mind and jumped into the nearest pod. The controls rumbled in his hands as the craft took off, and the now former commander hoped that he had enough of a head start to get to the Castle of Lions before they could deploy fighters to follow him. After all, these pods had no weapons.

Without looking back, the pod shot off in to the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dun dun dun*
> 
> Someone actually kind of sort of guessed this was going to happen from the last chapter so yeah kudos to them. Idk how long it's going to take me to get the next chapter done, but it might be a while. I have a lot planned and want to make sure I get it all in there.
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting and your kudos!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and, action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for not judging me too hard for repeating words over and over again :D

“Hey, princess? We- uh- we got a transmission from that ship.” Hunk was staring at the screen in front of him with confusion. Behind him, Lance was leaning against Hunk’s chair trying to see if he could make sense of the jumble of letters on the screen. It was clearly a Galra code, but it seemed completely random. There wasn’t any distinguishable pattern.

A few moments later, Allura’s voice came over the com. “A transmission? Is it from Commander Thace?”

“I don’t really know.” Hunk sighed. “It’s like a word scramble, but in a totally different language. And I’m not good at those games, even when they’re in English. I think Pidge needs to take a look at it.”

“On my way,” the human girl responded.

“We’re coming too,” Allura chimed in. There was no doubt that she was still talking to Shiro. Absently, Lance wondered what that could have been about, but it was only a mild sort of interest. The muddled up message in front of him was far more interesting.

Lance had fallen asleep a little while after he wandered into the control room. Hunk was lazily chatting away when the prince slumped in his seat and fell into a dreamless sleep. It was a bit of a relief, actually. He had been so focused on Keith and everything that had happened to him that Lance didn’t even realize a whole day had gone by without him sleeping a wink. While their chairs in the control room weren’t all that comfortable, it still gave him time to catch up on some well needed rest. That is, until Hunk was shaking him awake with the news.

Rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes, Lance turned to greet Pidge.

“It just came in a few minutes ago,” he told her, without waiting to be asked. Pidge leaned on the arm of Hunk’s chair, her glasses reflecting the code running across the screen.

“What do you think, Pidge?” Hunk asked.

There was a moment or two of silence before the girl straightened up. “I think that I have no idea what any of that means.”

Lance gaped. “You don’t? But what if it’s important?!”

“Then how about we ask the Galra on the ship. After all, this is a Galra code right?”

“I… I didn’t think of that.”

“Me neither,“ Hunk admitted.

Pidge shook her head, pushing up her glasses to pinch her nose. “Honestly, how you both survived this long without me is amazing.”

Just as Lance was about to retaliate, the door behind them slid open. Coran and Ulaz in front, followed closely by Allura and Shiro. Hunk quickly explained the little they knew about the message before displaying it on a larger screen.

Lance slide up next to Ulaz, looking up at the Galra as he spoke. “You can read this, right? You can decipher it?”

“Yes. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Then, is it from Thace? Or are random Galra just sending us things now?”

“It is definitely from Thace. No one else would send a coded message like this.”

Lance felt his heart pick up speed. Perhaps this was Thace telling them that he found the Red Quintessence already. The prince couldn’t help but get his hopes up at that thought. He clutched his hands to stop them from shaking excitedly. It looked like Keith wouldn’t be stuck in that cryopod for too long after all.

Ulaz was at work decoding the message when Pidge made an alarming shriek.

“Are those ships heading towards us?!” she pointed and all eyes followed. Outside their safe little haven in the asteroid belt, a small fleet of Galra ships were speeding towards them.

Coran leaped into action, pushing Ulaz out of the way to reach the controls. “Impossible! There’s no way their scanners would have been able to find us. There’s too much interference from the asteroids.”

“Unless… “Allura stepped forward, a grim expression on her face. “Unless someone gave away our position.”

Lance spun around, his mouth agape. “How can you even say that, Allura? Thace wouldn’t _do_ that! Are you saying you still don’t trust him?!”

His sister’s expression hardened. “I didn’t say he gave it up willingly.”

It took a moment for her words to sink in, and when they did, Lance was left with an all too familiar hollow feeling in his gut. “No… we were so careful. There’s no way they caught Thace.”

“It’s a possibility, and in our current situation, we have to consider all the possibilities.”

The little bit of excitement in him fizzled out. Lance clutched his hands together for an entirely different reason now.

The ships that filtered out from large command ship were small and wickedly fast. It became obvious in a few short seconds that they weren’t heading towards them. By the look of how they were moving, swiftly turning about, they were following something fast. The unnatural flash of their weapons stood out against the pale backdrop that was Altea. Lance watched as a small battle began to take shape in front of his home planet.

“Well, it’s clear that they haven’t spotted us yet, but with all this activity I suggest we get moving,” Coran addressed both the royals.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Lance agreed.

“Hang on sec…” Hunk was still at his station, peering at the screen in front of him. “I ran a scan on those ships ‘cause, I don’t know it’s kinda become a habit now, but the one in front isn’t equipped with any weapons. Isn’t that a little weird?”

“Very,” Ulaz frowned.

Allura’s gaze shifted between the two, seemingly conflicted. Lance could tell that his sister was still having a bit of a difficult time trusting Ulaz. All things considered, she had a perfectly good reason for her hesitance. She witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the Galra, but she also was witness to some of the good. Ulaz was a Galra to be trusted, just like Keith or Thace. Allura was wise enough to know that, even if her initial reaction was to disagree.

The princess took her spot at the controls, locking on to the ship that was being pursued. She frowned. “It’s an escape pod.”

Lance wanted to jump out of his chair. “An escape pod? You don’t think–does that mean he found it? I mean, there’s no one else on that ship would use an escape pod, right?”

“I don’t know, but we have to act now. The fighters are closing in on it.”

Just as she said, the distance between the pod and the other ships was getting smaller. There was a trail of smoke following the unarmed ship, which could only mean it was hit. Lance shuddered, wondering if it really was Thace inside that thing.

“Ulaz,” Allura began, turning to the Galra, “you can translate that message. How quickly can you have it done?”

“Not fast enough, your highness,” he responded, sounding a little disappointed. “A code like this takes time, and whoever is in that pod doesn’t have enough of it.”

The princess frowned. “Coran, let’s move the ship out of the asteroid belt. We need to help that ship.”

“Yes, princess… but you do realize that we won’t be able to hide here again. The Galra will more than likely be watching the area more intently after all this.”

“Yes. I know.” For a moment, Allura turned to her little brother. Coran’s statement was pretty clear. If they exposed themselves now and it wasn’t Thace in that escape pod, getting close to Red Quintessence would be ten times harder than before. Sitting where they were now, it was the perfect defensive position. It was a gamble, but there was only one decision to be made. Lance looked up at Allura and nodded.

“Let’s go. Keep the particle barrier up at full power.”

“What about us?” Pidge asked. “Should we get to the lions?”

The princess shook her head. “Not this time, Pidge. We’re going to get in and out as quickly as possible. I don’t want to risk any of you getting into unnecessary fights. Our only goal is to rescue that pod and then get to safety.”

Pidge nodded and took her seat. Coran urged the castle forward while Allura cleared some of the larger asteroids away with the castle’s weapon. Once they were out in the open, the castle sped towards the ailing escape pod.

 

* * *

 

 

When the Castle of Lions, in all its glorious splendor, rose from asteroid belt of a nearby planet, Thace was relieved. The fleet of ships following him would be no match for the wonder of Altean tech at its finest. But that relief turned sour when he realized that they were heading straight into a fire fight.

Thace abruptly changed course and headed straight for the castle, the controls shuttering in his hands as the damaged hull struggled to keep itself together. Once in range, part of the barrier flickered out, letting him guide the pod safely inside. 

The escape pod shuttered to a stop, the bottom part dragging on the floor with a loud screeching noise. Thace hadn’t realized niether how hard he was breathing, nor how tight his grip on the controls had become. He was shaking from head to toe, not only from the rush of adrenaline from his escape, but also with the terrible realization of what just happened. Things were just getting worse and worse.

Thace excited the pod, his eyes tracing over the damage that had been done. The sound of footsteps made him turn.

“Ulaz,” he greeted.

“It’s good to see you in one piece, Thace.”

Truthfully, Thace felt like he was broken up in to hundreds of pieces, thrown out into the stars carelessly, likely never to be put back together again.

Ulaz seemed to read into his silence, edging closer. “The princess is moving to castle to a safe location. Come, I am sure there is much you need to tell us.”

“There is, and none of it is good.”

The two comrades walked slowly down the hall. Thace had his hands clenched at his side. His mind was unwillingly replaying his last encounter with Prince Lotor, the red tint to his eyes, the venom leaking from his voice, and his haunting words.

Following Ulaz down the unfamiliar path to the control room, Thace readied himself. He could just imagine the reaction the prince would have, and undoubtedly feared that the most. But there was no way to solve this problem without all the facts. Even the hard facts were necessary. Just ahead, Thace could hear the commanding voice of Princess Allura. With one final deep breath, he made his way to the door.

 

* * *

 

 

For once, Lance wasn’t completely devastated by the news they were given. On the contrary, he was mad. Furious, even. Like a raging wind tearing up trees and bushes, or a solar flare reaching out and burning everything it came close to. Even those descriptions weren’t enough to match this fire in his chest.

The information that Thace told them was a shock, to say the least. Neither one of the royals realized that Prince Lotor would go against Emperor Zarkon to gain some power. An act like this was sure to create a rift between the two that they might be lucky enough to take advantage of. That or it would cause a civil war with Altea being the battle ground.

Lance was taking out his frustrations on the training deck, too antsy and angry to sit anymore. Besides, he needed to work on his combat skills without a blaster. With a training staff in hand, the young prince took on the training drones at a steady pace, raising the level after each encounter to further test his abilities. Eventually, he switched to having two drones attack him at once. After all, fights often consisted of multiple enemies at time. More times than not, he was caught off guard by an attack from behind and ended up on the flat of his back with a stinging bruise to add to his collection. But the pain was almost welcomed. It helped keep his thoughts grounded.

After about an hour, Lance hit a plateau. He braced himself, his staff raised above his head to block on oncoming attack. On his side, another drone began to rush him, a blunted sword raised and aimed for his side. Lance dove to the side, avoiding both attacks as they ricocheted off each other. But the drones were quick to regroup.

Try as he might, Lance could not seem to beat these two. He barely had enough speed to dodge the attacks, leaving him nothing to even try to attack. After the situation grew more and more frustrating, Lance decided he was done.

“End training simulation,” he called. His chest was heaving as sweat dripped from his brow and down to the ground. Lance chuckled dryly as the drones stood at attention and were lowered back into the floor. “Still can’t get past level 5. Some paladin I am…”

“If I may, your highness,” Lance turned abruptly to see Thace standing near the doorway. The former commander approached, albeit slowly. “You’re too focused on the enemy in front of you, causing you to make hasty decisions when you finally do realize that another enemy is approaching.”

 “I’m _too_ focused? I didn’t think that was a bad thing.”

“It isn’t, but you need to learn to spread that attention to what’s around you, not just on what’s in front of you. Trust your instincts. They will serve you well.”

Lance considered his words, wondering what the little lesson was all about. “Um, thanks Thace. I’ve never really been good with blunt weapons like these. Blasters are more my strong suit. I’m even worse at hand to hand.”

“Perhaps you just need more training.”

“I’ve been training since I was 5.”

“A different type of training, then.”

The prince huffed, amused. Talking to Thace was surprisingly easy. It felt almost like speaking with Coran, although a lot calmer. Coran had a tendency to drift into soliloquies of his youth and occasionally would act out events in way that rivaled the prince when he was excited. Lance stepped off the training deck, setting aside his practice staff in storage compartment in the wall. He took a moment to stretch his tired limbs before grabbing his water bottle.

The silence that now fell between them felt awkward, and Lance wasn’t sure how to fill it. There were things he wanted to say and questions that he was dying to get answers to. But for all the practice he had starting a conversation, he was feeling a little less than prepared for talking to a former Galra commander. So, like Thace had advised him to do, he followed his instincts.

“Are you… are you really Keith’s uncle?” Lance asked.

Thace startled for a moment and then answered, “Yes, I am. His mother Lira was my younger sister.”

“And his father?”

“Human. Although, I do not know his name, nor where he is.”

Lance let out a sigh. “So he _is_ part human. I had feeling, after landing on Earth and meeting Hunk and Pidge. Hunk said that ‘Keith’ was common name on Earth. It was a wild guess, but looks like I was right.”

“Good intuition,” Thace said with a nod. Lance inwardly beamed at the praise. The glow dampened when he moved on to his next topic of discussion.

“I – ah, quiznak, I’m sorry, Thace. For what I said to you the other day. Blaming you and… everything. I was wrong to do that, especially since you’re Keith’s family. Not to mention all the help you’ve given us. I just… I’m really sorry.” Lance sputtered out the last bit of his apology, letting his shoulders drop. That wasn’t at all how he wanted this confession to go.

Thace placed his hand on the prince’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “It’s all right, your highness. I knew there was no real malice there. You were just reacting to a terrible situation. Although, I have to say, your reaction to the news of what Lotor has done surprised me. I was expecting something similar to the last time, if I may be so bold.”

Lance crossed his arms and huffed. “Be as bold as you want, I don’t mind. I guess I’m just done freaking out and ready to kick some ass. Especially royal Galran ass. Honestly, he’s giving us princes a bad name.”

The surprised smile on Thace’s face was a welcomed sight. All these Galra were so uptight, more so than any of the lords the prince had to deal with. Any form of emotion he managed to see that wasn’t serious or worried was a small battle won.

Lance grew quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to word this next sentence. “I am ready to fight but… but I’m still scared. I’m scared that Keith is going to stay in that pod forever, and he doesn’t deserve that. He deserves so much more than that.”

Thace nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know what Lotor did really, if he’s actually gone against Zarkon or not, but whatever he’s done I’m going to stop him from doing any more damage. And not just to us or Keith or the Alteans that are still trapped on my planet. He needs to be stopped before his madness takes him to other systems, other planets where he can ruin even more lives.”

“Spoken like a true paladin of Voltron,” Thace said calmly.

Lance grinned. Perhaps he was worthy of being a paladin.  
 

* * *

 

 

Wrong. Everything felt wrong.

At first it was fine. Floating. Formless. Red. Warm and calm and _fine_.

Not now. Now it is was wrong. Everything was wrong.

A new color was here. It wasn’t supposed to _be_ here.

It was dark and cold, a sickly color that didn’t deserve a name. Worse yet, it was all around. It was everywhere. _It wasn’t supposed to be here_.

A part of him had been taken away by this invader and it felt so wrong.

He could still feel it. Feel the part that was missing. But it was struggling. Fighting desperately against a nameless force that wanted to swallow it whole.

_Go away._

A voice that wasn’t his own growled. Its color was red too, but a little darker and oh so warm. That’s where all the warmth was coming from. From her.

The new color kept surrounding them, it kept creeping closer. It was here to consume the both of them.

But no… they couldn’t just let that happen. Couldn’t just disappear. There was something out there waiting for them. Something cool and soft that could comfort their fire.

What was it again?

_Blue._

That’s right… it was a color too. Blue. A brilliant, beautiful blue.

Where is that brilliant blue?

 

* * *

 

 

“First things first, I think we should concentrate on getting that canister from Haggar.” Pidge sat at the middle of the table, her hands folded and resting in the space in front of her. She looked down the length of the table at the rest of the people gathered.

“I’m with Pidge on this,” Hunk chimed in. “That Lotor guy said he only took, what, like, a fourth of that stuff? It’d probably be best to grab what left before he can take the rest.”

“I agree,” Thace added. “With the Red Quintessence in our possession, we can work on a way of giving it back to Keith.”

Lance fidgeted in his seat. “Do you think he’d wake up even though it’s not everything?”

“I don’t know. Nothing like this has happened before.”

The prince slouched in his seat after that. Allura took the reins of the conversation. She stood from her seat at the head of the table and spoke.

“I agree with Pidge as well. Our first goal will be to get the Red Quintessence back. Thace, do you think that it will still be in the place you marked on the map?”

“Yes. Even if Lotor managed to sneak in, the most logical place to keep the quintessence is with the Druids. They are the only ones who know how to handle it properly. However, with Lotor’s actions, I am sure it will be even more heavily guarded.”

The princess nodded. “True, but I feel as though the prince’s rebellion may also serve us. I’m sure the Emperor won’t take too kindly to Lotor’s action. Coran, do you think you could come up with a way of monitoring the activity around Altea? I suspect things are going to get a little hectic in the coming vargas.”

“Right away, princess.” The advisor hopped up from his seat.

“I will go with you.” All attention turned to Ulaz as the Galra rose to his full height. “Before I left, I was able reprogram several of the security drones on the ship. If we are lucky, I can access their feed remotely from one of your stations.”

“It’s worth a try. Come on, then. Let’s get to work.” Coran and Ulaz left, the door sliding shut behind them.

Allura turned to issue her next command. “Pidge, do you think you equip the Yellow Lion with the same cloaking technology that’s on your lion? The Galra know that we have the Blue Lion, but if we can keep the other two a secret we have an advantage.”

The human girl jumped out of her seat. “On it. Want to help me out, Hunk?”

“Sure. You’ll probably need someone to do the heavy lifting for you.”

“I would have figured out something.” She shrugged. Hunk pat her on the shoulder as a response and the two humans were off to the Green Lion’s hanger.  All that was left were the two royals, Shiro and Thace.

Lance sat next to his sister, his eyes darting across to the table to where Shiro sat. Something in the human’s posture was different. He sat taller, his eyes set and determined. Whatever he and Allura discussed earlier seemed to change him in a subtle way. Lance wondered just what exactly that conversation had been about.

Allura sat, folding her hands on the table. “Now, the four of us are going to come up with a plan.”

“Really?” Lance blurted out. The other three, yes they might have been able to come up with something, but although Lance had been allowing his confidence to grow, he still didn’t feel like he was going to contribute much to this discussion. Allura caught his eye, throwing a small confident smile his way.

“Yes. I believe that between the four of us, we will be able to come up with a strategy to win back the Red Quintessence and stop Lotor from whatever plan he’s concocting. Now, Thace, have you any idea what Lotor might be planning?”

The commander sat back, closing his eyes in thought. “I can’t be sure, but I do know that he is desperate for power. He has never been much of a presence in the Empire. Once he was old enough, Emperor Zarkon sent him away with a small fleet, basically resigning him to a insignificant part of our system and to be ignored. It was only until our planet collapsed that Zarkon reestablished his connection with his son, but even then, it’s nothing more than commander issuing orders his subordinate. Related though they may be, they don’t care for one another.”

“So basically,” Lance spoke up, “Lotor is suffering from daddy issues and decides to act out by throwing a black hole- like temper tantrum?”

Allura snorted, shaking her head as she contemplated whether or not she should laugh.   

A frail smile pulled at the corner of Thace lips. “In a way, I guess you could say that. But it’s evolved into something much worse. At one point, Lotor may have been looking from approval from his father, but that time has long passed. Now I believe he just wants to take what he thinks is his, and due to his recent actions, it seems he wants the entire Empire itself.”

“I doubt that Zarkon would let that happen,” Allura commented. “This rift between father and son could only have grown after Lotor’s actions. If we plan it right, we might be able to use that as an advantage.”

“You want to use their argument as a way in?” Shiro asked. “Do you think that would be a wide enough window?”

“I can’t say for sure. That will depend on what we can see. Hopefully Coran and Ulaz will come back with good news and we’ll have a view of what’s going on in the space around Altea. If we’re lucky, it will be chaos.”

“In all that chaos, I can say with certainty that Haggar will be guarding the Red Quintessence personally,” Thace added.

Allura nodded in understanding. “Yes, from what you told us of her, she is completely loyal to Zarkon. Any act against him would be an act against her, too. I doubt she would simply let Lotor get his hands on the quintessence again.”

“True, but going against her will be no easy task. It will likely take more than just one of us.”

“Then we make a distraction,” Lance concluded. The other three looked at him expectantly. He took a breath and began rattling off the idea that was slowly forming in his mind. “Send in two of us to take on Haggar. Defeating her won’t be our goal, all we have to do is hold her off long enough for a third member of our little team to sneak in, grab the quintessence, and then get the hell out of there.”

His older sister frowned. “It’s a bit… simple.”

“But simple can work,” Shiro quickly added. “If we think ahead, plan for any problem that might come our way, simple will work.”

Not for the first time, Lance was thankful for Shiro. The four of them continued their discussion, running through whatever crazy possibilities their minds could think of. They contemplated all the twists and turns this strategy could take, and tried their best to come up with ways to counteract the problems.

Nearly an hour into their discussion, Coran hurried into the room with a tangible energy.

“It’s just as you suspected, princess. The Galra are completely in state of disarray. They are fighting each other.”

Allura practically jumped out of her seat. “Then we have no time to lose. It’s time to put our plan into action.”

 

* * *

 

 

Something was wrong. Actually everything was wrong, but something felt worse.

The darkness, the unnamed color, it was going somewhere and along with it, part of their warmth.

Further and further away. He could still feel the small part of them, still fully aware of the darkness that surrounded it, but the distance growing between the two was agony.

She could feel it too, his companion who suffered along with him. The pain that only grew the further and further away the unnamed color went. Ripping off a piece of them at an excruciatingly slow pace.

What could they do? What could he do?

_Think of blue._

Blue… think of blue. That color had helped him before.

_Not only blue, there are others too._

Others? What others? They’re have never been others.

_Blue but also black, yellow and, green. They are all waiting for us. Waiting for you._

* * *

 

Lance was pacing, a habit he seemed to inherit from his father. He only had a little while longer to wait, and then this mission would be begin. The young prince spoke while he walked, going back and forth in front of the occupied pod.

“… it took a little bit of convincing, okay it took a _lot_ of convincing, but I’m going to be one of the one’s distracting Haggar while Pidge and Thace go after your quintessence. Allura almost didn’t let me, but Shiro volunteered to go with me and that made her feel better. By the way, Allura’s figured out that Shiro’s the Black Paladin. Crazy right? Like, what are the chances of you two meeting when the both of you are paladins? So crazy… oh, back to the plan. Thace and Pidge are going to together to grab the quintessence. Hopefully, me and Shiro will do a good enough job of keeping Haggar busy, but if not, Thace is going to step in and hold her off while Pidge makes a break for the quintessence. Pidge is both small enough and fast enough to slip by with the stuff. After that, we just high tail it back to lions and get out. Sounds easy enough, right Keith?”

Lance turned, breaking his pattern and pausing right in front of the pod. Behind the thick pane of glass and underneath an eerie pale glow, Keith stood looking no different from when he was lying on the bed. The prince waited for a moment, hoping in vain that Keith would show some sort of reaction to their grand plan. When nothing happened, Lance resumed his pacing.

“We don’t have much of a idea on how to give back your quintessence safely, but between Pidge, Hunk and Coran, you don’t have a reason to worry. Those three geniuses will think of something. As for Lotor…” Lance stopped again, staring down at the floor with his fists clenched. “I… I don’t have an answer for that right now. Whatever Lotor stole, well, we can’t really think about that right now. It looks like the troops that are loyal to that dumb prince are fighting against Zarkon’s troops. Right now, it’d be suicide trying to go after Lotor. Even though… even though I really want to.”

The prince walked up the few steps to the pod and sat, his back leaning against the cool surface. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he rested his head against the pod.

“I really... _really_ want to go after him. Everyone does, even Allura. You’d like to know that she’s warmed up to you after all this time. She thinks you’re pretty brave.” Lance began fiddling with his gloves, smoothing out the material over and over again. “I want to go after Lotor, make him pay for everything he put you through, but that’s just… not an option right now. Well it is, but it’s not a good one. I’m trying to do what Thace told me. Spread my focus… be aware off all my enemies and not just the one in front of me. Trust my instincts. Bit hard when all I want to do is shoot Lotor in the face, but I think I’m doing alright.”

Just then, the communicator on his helmet beeped. Lance pushed himself up, going to retrieve the thing where he left on the control console. He slipped on the helmet and answered the call.

There was a low buzz before Pidge’s voice echoed in his ear. “ _Lance?_ ”

“I’m here. What’s up?”

“ _We’re getting ready to move. You all set to go?_ ”

“Yeah, I’m ready. I’ll head over to my lion. Tell Shiro I’ll meet him there.”

“ _Got it. See you soon._ ”

“See you, Pidge.” The line cut off and Lance was left in silence once again. He turned back to the pod, back to Keith, and steeled his resolve. “Guess it’s time to go. Wish me luck, alright?”

The prince stepped forward, placing a hand on the thick glass. His eyes were tracing every inch of his Galra friend, focusing on his face and remembering the beautiful color that hid behind his closed eyes. He leaned closer, letting his helmet bump up against the glass.

“I swore to save you, and I’m about to make good on that promise. No more setbacks and no more doubting myself. Better things are coming, and this is the start of it all.” With reluctance, Lance pushed himself off of the pod and began to walk away, his eyes lingering on the still form behind the glass. “I’ll be back soon. Okay, Keith?”

Lance couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit, hopeful of what was to come. There were plenty of risks of course, but he had a team of people behind him ready to support each other at the drop of a hat. It was going to be dangerous, scary even, but Lance had never felt more confident than he felt in this moment. This was a step in the right direction.

With one final glance at Keith, Lance hurried out to Blue’s hanger.

He arrived at the same time as Shiro, the two of them sharing a look before climbing into the Blue Lion’s mouth. Since the Black Lion was still locked away, Shiro was riding with him. Pidge was with Thace and Hunk was by himself. That left Coran, Ulaz and Allura in the castle.

The plan had multiple layers. The castle was currently warping to a point just on the outside of the Galra’s territory surrounding Altea. The three lions would take off and speed towards the ensuing fight between Lotor and Zarkon’s forces, but only the Blue Lion would be visible. The other two would be hidden from sight due to Pidge and Hunk’s modifications. The hidden lions would bide their time, while Lance took on whatever fighters came after him. On that end, the prince was doing well.

“Nice shot, your highness.” Shiro’s praise only boosted his confidence. Lance and Blue were darting across the sky like a comet, a trail of wrecked Galra ships behind them.

“Alright, hold on!” Lance urged Blue to go faster, blowing past two on coming fighters.

The scene before them was chaos, just as Allura had hoped. Lotor’s theft clearly did not sit well with the Emperor, and when they arrived, he was in the middle of destroying what little troops Lotor had. Their timing was perfect, attacking right in the midst of the battle raging between the two sides. Even just an hour later, Zarkon would have decimated Lotor’s troops.

The fighters on both sides were hesitant at first, clearly trying to decide whether they should join forces against Voltron or continue to fight one another as well as the legendary defender. Their hesitation was enough to give team Voltron the edge they needed.

“That’s perfect, Lance. You’re doing brilliantly,” Allura called over the coms. “Pidge, their attention is focused on the Blue Lion and the castle, hurry to the Galra ship and see if you can find an entrance. Tell us as soon and you do.”

“Rodger that,” The young girl responded.

“Hunk, be ready to move. As soon as Pidge finds an entrance, I’m sending Lance and Shiro in. You’re going to need to take his place out here fighting these ships with the castle as back up.”

“Yes ma’am!” Hunk replied with gusto.

Shiro gripped Lance’s seat, his voice sounding strong. “Alright team, this is it. We all know what were supposed to do. Stay on the coms and watch out for one another. This is our chance to stop the Galra before they can put their plans into motion. I know we can do it, we just have to work together.”

Lance grinned. “Well said, Shiro. I’m feeling all inspired.”

“ _Focus_ , Lance,” Allura chided.

The prince didn’t need to be told to focus. His mind was consumed by the plan they had set in motion, and by the goal they were fighting to reach. Nothing was going to throw off his determination.

A few minutes later and Pidge was reporting in, having successfully landing in cargo bay. Allura quickly moved everybody into the second phase of their plan.

All at once, several Galra fighters were suddenly flung off course. The Yellow Lion shimmered into existence amongst the battle field and Lance could practically hear the surprised squawks from the Galra. The enemy fighters looked almost frozen in place as the large, heavily armored lion came barreling towards them with surprising speed.

The fighters broke off, deciding that Lance and Blue were no longer the biggest threat and took off after the Yellow Lion. It was now or never.

“Alright, I’m heading your way, Pidgey.”

“Hurry it up, Lance.” Pidge’s voice sounded a little strained. “We’ve got company over here.”

Lance punched it. Blue sped towards the now familiar form of the Galra ship. The signal from the Green Lion was leading them to the landing spot. They circled around and found the small cargo bay wide open. There was barely enough room for the two lions to land, especially considering half of the landing space was taken up by drones.

“Quiznak. Pidge and Thace are cornered.” Lance had Blue hover just outside the bay.

“Hold here, I’ll go help clear them out and give you space to land.” Shiro squeezed the prince’s shoulder firmly before letting go.

“Okay… wait, what?”

Before he could ask, Shiro stepped through the cockpit doors and disappeared. Lance realized what the man was doing and tried to position the lion even closer to the bay entrance. Once satisfied, he opened the outer door.

Shiro expertly glided down to the floor, using his jetpack to move closer. It took a long while before the drones realized help was coming; after all, they were kind of distracted by a giant blue lion hovering out of reach. With Shiro on the ground helping, the small collection of drones were quickly put down, giving Lance the space he needed to land.

Lance was out of his seat as soon as Blue touched down and hurried to meet his friends.

Pidge and Thace were unharmed, although a little out of breath from all the excitement. Shiro on the other hand, was staring down as his Galra arm with a slight frown.

The prince hurried forward. “You okay, Shiro?”

The human looked up, a little confused. He clenched his fist. “I’m fine. Just… getting used to things. Okay, now it’s time to get moving. Lance and I have the location of the quintessence marked on our maps. Pidge, Thace, after we leave wait a good 10 minutes before coming to follow. I want to make sure that Haggar is well distracted by the time you arrive.”

The two nodded.

“If you can, see if you can distract some of the patrols. It would be easier for Lance and I to fight off Haggar if we’re in top form.”

“On it.” Pidge nodded. Thace led her to a control panel near the side of the room, already discussing a strategy.

With that set, Shiro looked to Lance. The young prince took a moment to prepare himself, realizing that what was about to happen next could very well be the last moments of his life. For as confident as they all were that this plan would work and that everyone would be fine, there was still the very real possibility that things wouldn’t be alright. That none of them would make it off of this ship.

Lance knew of that out come from the start, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to fight. The argument he had with Allura about fighting the Druid witch was probably the worst verbal fight he’d even been in. His big sister was practically ordering him to stay away from Haggar, to stay safe, but Lance simply could not do that. After all, what kind of royal would he be, what kind of _friend_ would he be, if he didn’t take on the same risks as everyone else?

Once he made that point, Allura reluctantly agreed.

The young prince had no intention of losing here, but that still didn’t hide the shiver of fear that rattled up his spine.

 _Good,_ Lance thought. _That will keep me from getting cocky._

With a deep breath, Lance gripped his bayard and felt it transform in his hand. Time to go.

The pair moved down towards their goal, moving both cautiously and quickly. Every turn of a corner brought up the worried thrill that something was waiting for them around the bend. Luckily, they had Pidge and Thace doing a hell of a job keeping Galra soldiers away from them. The few times they did run into enemies, it was drone who, do to Pidge’s genius, didn’t actually seem to see them. They were able to walk past the intimidating machines like they were invisible.

In his ear, the coms were low and constantly full of chatter. They were staying in touch with each other as much as possible and Lance felt comforted by his friends’ voices.

The battle outside the ship was raging on, with more fighters coming from the surface of Altea. Whatever fight was going on between Lotor’s forces and Zarkon’s was put on hold and all of them were focused on the Castle of Lions and on the Yellow Lion. However, the absence of the Blue Lion wasn’t going unnoticed.

“Lance, Shiro, what’s your position?” Allura’s voice sounded a bit winded, the strain of the fight obviously taking its toll.

Shiro began to slow, stopping just before a fork in the hall. He pulled up his map. “We’re nearly there. How are things outside?”

“We’re holding up, but it seems as though they’ve noticed the absence of the Blue Lion. Parts of the fleet are trying to break off and search for it. Hunk is doing the best he can to stop them from drifting to far, but it’s getting harder.”

“Understood, we’ll make this as quick as we can, princess.” Shiro motioned for Lance to follow and the two of them cautiously made their way down the hall. “Pidge, what’s your position?”

A surge of static, and then, “we’re following behind you, keeping our distance.”

“Good. Lance and I are going in. Be ready to move fast.”

“Will do.”

All this time, Lance stayed quiet, his gaze darting to every inch of the hall in front of him. Minus the buzz of the communicator in his ear, it was eerily quiet in this part of the ship. The glow of the lights was significantly darker and there was this strange thrum in the air that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. If his posture was anything to go by, Shiro was feeling the same thing.

The dark hallway lead to an intimidating door that, surprisingly, was slightly open. The cracked open door was a menacing sight, almost like someone had known to leave it open for them. Lance gripped his bayard tighter.

“Are you ready, your highness?” Shiro asked in a low voice.

“Would you judge me if I said no?” Lance asked honestly.

Shiro grinned. “Not at all. I’d think that’s a pretty normal response.”

The prince flashed a grin of his own. No, he wasn’t really ever going to be prepared for something like this. Especially since the open door in front of him was basically telling them that Haggar knew they were coming. Regardless, this was something he had to do.

“Alright, let’s do this.” The two of them stepped forward, each pushing open the door closes to them. As soon as they entered the room, the change was immediate.

The air was heavy, pressing down on the young prince like a very real force pushing him down. His legs wobbled with the sudden weight, wanting to give out and make him crash to the floor, but Lance refused. With effort he kept putting one foot in front of the other, following Shiro as they made their way deeper inside.

The room was filled with clear canisters lining the walls. Some empty, some filled, a few hooked up to machines that beeped and whirled like living things. It was just as dim in this room as it was in the halls outside, but with the added glow of the machines, it took on a much more sinister look. Lance felt a bead of sweat run down his temple. It was then that he noticed the buzz of his com was silent.

“Quiznak…” he muttered. He reached up and began messing with the buttons on the side.

“What is it?” Shiro asked.

“The coms… I think they’re down.”

Shiro frowned, messing with his own helmet. After a few moments longer, he dropped his hand. “Something in here must be messing with the signal.”

“Or… someone.” Lance shuddered at the thought, his legs wobbling once again.

Just then, a figure shimmered into exist. “How observant of you, Prince Lance.”

Lance brought his bayard up instantly, Shiro tensing next to him. The person in front of them must have been Haggar, but Thace’s description of her was sorely lacking. She truly looked like a witch from a fairy tale, pale white hair dangling down around her thin face. Her skin was an unnatural color and her hands were no better than claws, hanging by her side. If that wasn’t enough, her voice took something as simple as Lance’s own name and turned it into something chilling.

Haggar grinned, the action barely noticeable under the hood that covered most of her face. “My apologies for not introducing myself during our time on Altea, but as you know I had other things that required my attention.”

Lance flinched. Of course she had a part in the attack on his planet.

Her gaze shifted to Shiro and a whole new expression lit up her features. “And it looks as though you’ve brought a friend. I have missed having the Champion here. After all, I never did get to finish my experiment.”

A shutter passed through Shiro. “What are you talking about?” he grit out.

“Don’t you remember your time here? Or perhaps not. After all, exposer to our power does have interesting side effects. Tell me Champion, do you remember the day I took your arm?”

Anger swirled in Lance’s chest. This witch had hurt Keith and now Shiro too? She was just as big of a problem as the squabbling Galra leaders. Lance took aim.

“Shiro,” he whispered. “I’m ready if you are.”

The human tore his eyes away from Haggar for just a moment. With one curt nod, the fight began.

Lance let loose a barrage of shots, only the first one landing a hit. The blazing blue light clipped Haggar’s shoulder before she began to move with alarming speed. She made a beeline for the prince, her clawed hand glowing with a strange power.

Shiro was there in an instant, his Galra hand glowing with energy. Lance gaped for a moment, realizing that that was what Shiro was talking about when they first landed in the cargo bay. Another thought quickly took over as Lance continued to fire whenever he could. It’d be perfect for Shiro if he used the weapon the Druids forced on him to defeat them. The thought spurred him on.

Lance had never seen Shiro fight, but it was damn impressive. He’d clearly been trained from a young age, and by the fluid way he moved, he took to that training well. Shiro reacted almost like he could anticipate Haggar’s attacks, dodging swipes from her glowing claws with ease and lashing out with attacks of his own. Lance took shots whenever he could, taking aim when Shiro had managed to push her back or moments after he dodged an attack. The young prince kept to the sidelines, providing just enough of a threat to keep the witch from making any big moves.

The two of them worked together flawlessly, impressing the young prince. But just as Thace had said, Haggar was more that she appeared.

The glow that had enveloped her claws flared and changed colors rapidly. It blazed white before flashing brightly. The light was a shock, forcing Lance to blink several times to try and get the spots to disappear from his eyes. Once they finally did, Lance was greeted with a proud-looking witch mere inches from his face.

Lance recoiled, stumbling back and narrowly dodging an attack aimed for his chest. Haggar persisted, swiping again and again at the young royal as he clumsily continued to avoid her advances. He didn’t even have time to wonder where Shiro was, let alone regain his balance. His bayard felt useless in his grip. There just wasn’t an opportunity for him to get a shot in.

“Lance!”

The young prince jumped at the sound of his name, Haggar’s glowing claws grazing the armor on his arm. Moments later, Shiro barreled into the witch, tackling her to the ground. She shrieked as Shiro tried to grab a hold of her wrists to subdue her. Of course, it wasn’t going to be that simple.

A flare of purple energy pulsed from Haggar and Shiro was thrown off of her in an instant. Lance only just recognized that his teammate was heading straight for him before Shiro slammed into him, causing the two of them to crash to the ground.

Lance groaned, his head ringing from the impact. Next to him, Shiro was breathing hard and clutching his shoulder. _He must have landed on it,_ Lance reasoned.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Haggar continued her attack. The witch was charging them, her ever glowing claws raised and ready to rip them apart. Lance, still sitting on the ground, began shooting, his attacks bouncing off of her whenever they came close to hitting her. Lance grimaced, realizing that his attacks were suddenly useless. Not only that, but Shiro wasn’t making any moves to get up. Her magic… it did something to him. His eyes looked wide and unfocused, making Lance panic more than he already was.

Haggar leaped at them. Reacting quickly, Lance kicked Shiro out of the way before rolling to avoid her attack. Unfortunately he wasn’t entirely successful.

Lance screamed as Haggar’s claw buried into his shoulder. Whatever magic she controlled was now burning the flesh of his shoulder, hotter and more intense than any fire. Lance dropped his bayard, gripping Haggar’s arm with hand and trying desperately to pushed her off. The witch was like a boulder, unmoving and horribly strong. It was like he was a bug caught under her shoe.

“I knew it would be you coming after the Red Quintessence,” she murmured, pressing even more weight down on his shoulder. “Do you really think you can save him? Save that traitor?”

Lance bit his lip, not wanting to give in to her taunts. He squirmed, digging his nails into her arm to no effect.

“Once removed, quintessence is not so easily returned. Your little mission is pointless.”

“ _Shut up_ ,” Lance hissed, frustration bubbling to the surface. “What do you know? All you do is take.”

“True, but that just means I know what happens when something like that is lost. I know everything… how painful it can be, the damage it causes… or really, the damaged I caused.”

Lance practically growled he was so angry. He stared up into her glowing eyes and felt the burn of hatred in his own gaze.

“Your friend is lost, and soon you will be too. After all, why have only one part of Voltron when Emperor Zarkon can have it all?”

Before her threat could truly sink in, arms latched around her torso and began pulling her away. Lance felt a whoosh of relief at the sight of Shiro, who looked a little worse for wear, but now at least was fighting back.

There was a painful tug as Haggar’s claws were pulled from his shoulder. As soon as he had a little room, Lance brought up his leg and kicked her hard in the stomach. She howled, trying in vain to go after the young prince again. Lance pushed himself up, letting out a small cry of pain as his armor shifted around the hole in his shoulder. He scooped up his bayard, which transformed at his touch. Instead of the large blaster he usually used, it was smaller, easy to use with one hand. Relief flooded his system. There was no way he would have been able to hold the other blaster with his messed up shoulder.

Haggar shrieked and twisted, fighting to get out of Shiro’s grasp. She brought her elbow forward and in one swift motion threw it back into Shiro’s stomach. The human gasped, his hold on Haggar failing. The witch freed herself and pushed herself away from the two. Lance grimaced as he saw blood, his blood, dripping from her hand.

The prince glanced at Shiro, his weapon still trained on the threat. “You okay?” he asked.

“Fine.” The slight shake in Shiro’s voice hinted otherwise.

At that moment, Haggar smirked. “What’s the matter, Champion? Didn’t you like that? That little reminder of our time spent together?”

Shiro noticeably flinched. “Stay out of my head.”

“Or what? Despite what you might believe, you cannot beat me.”

It was true, both Lance and Shiro knew that they were no match for the being in front of them. Of course, beating her wasn’t the plan. They just had to last long enough for Pidge and Thace to get the Red Quintessence and get out. Without their coms, this plan became a little more complicated. Lance felt it had been days since he last heard from his sister, from anyone. But in all their meticulous planning, having no communication was only a minor setback.

Lance decided to press forward and began shooting once more. The shots from this blaster were faster, smaller with an impact that was just as heavy. Haggar staggered back for a moment as a she blocked a shot with her magic, the force of the hit still strong enough to unbalance her.

Just like that, they were back into motion. Shiro attacked up close and Lance kept himself a safe distance away. From the corner of his eye, he saw two figures dash into the room from the open doors. A flash of green and white made his heart soar.

Of course, Pidge’s bright armor made her stand out horribly and Lance realized he’d have to compensate for that. He began circling around the fight in front of him, Haggar’s eyes following him in between the blows she exchanged with Shiro. Soon enough, her back was facing the wall that Thace and Pidge were currently darting across.

Thace was running alongside Pidge, his tall frame practically shielding her as they hurried further into the room. Lance divided his attention between watching his friends and assisting Shiro from a distance. Each movement seemed to jostle his injured shoulder and caused a fresh sting of pain to blossom from the wound. Lance tried to keep his arm still but for some reason even breathing was causing agitation.   

 _Please hurry up, you guys…_ Lance thought absently. The two of them were holding their own, but Haggar was full of surprises that he didn’t want to stick around for.

All the sudden, Haggar’s hand glowed a familiar white and Lance reacted quickly. He fumbled for the UV setting on his visor and mere seconds before the bright flash of light blinded him, he was protected by the tinted visor.

Shiro seemed to have learned as well, his movements barely altered by the flash of light. He quickly leaped out of the way from a swift attack and took a moment to catch his breath. In that time, Lance covered him, firing as quickly as he could at his target. This only seemed to anger Haggar as she sidestepped his assault with a snarl on her face.

And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Lance gaped at the now empty space where the witch had been. He hurried over to Shiro who looked equally as shocked.

“Where in the hell did she go...?” he muttered.

“I don’t know, but don’t let your guard down.”

Lance nodded and turned. The two paladins stood back to back in the large room, willing their nervous heartrates to slow down.  They stood in the dim light as time seemed to stand still around them. The seconds ticked by like hours and Lance prayed that Haggar wasn’t off tracking down Pidge and Thace.

At that moment, the pressure in the room changed. The feeling of a weight pressing down on him was back with a vengeance and Lance was fully ready to crumble underneath its force. It was then that Haggar deiced to make herself known again and she lunged for the prince with unrelenting strength. Lance panicked. He couldn’t move. He physically could not move.

At the last moment, Shiro managed to push Lance out of the way. They tumbled to the ground and the prince landed hard on his bad shoulder. He swore, pain running through him like a shock of electricity. Despite this, he managed to push himself to his feet again and looked over to Shiro.

Lance’s eyes widened. “Shiro…”

“I’m fine. Just a scratch.” His side was torn open, three, glowing scratches tearing across his side. “Are you okay?”

As if to remind him, his shoulder flared again. “I’ll be fine,” he declared.

“So brave,” Haggar taunted. “Your stubbornness is truly astounding.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Lance shot back, his confidence blooming.

“I’ve seen all I need to know that you’re not all that impressive. Prince, paladin, is there any title you hold that you actually deserve?”

That set his blood boiling. Before Lance could retaliate, a familiar flash of green and white appeared in the corner of his eye.

Pidge stood with her weapon raised. “Why don’t you shut up already, you hag!”

Haggar turned just in time to dodge the glowing edge of Pidge’s bayard. The bright green cable that connect the two halves grew taut as Pidge yanked it back to ready another attack. Lance gaped as the sight of Haggar now lunging after his small friend.

“Pidge!” This was not a part of their plan. Just as Lance was about to help her, some grasped onto his good arm and began pulling him away. “Th-Thace? What are you— no! We can’t leave, Pidge needs our help!”

The command shook his head. “No, she doesn’t. Look.”

Lance followed his instruction and looked to where Thace was taking them. Standing in the open doorway, with her arm held up, was Pidge. Behind her was a canister, thicker than his thigh and swirling with a red energy.

Pidge made eye contact with Lance and grinned. “These suits are amazing. Holo projectors right in the arm? Brilliant.”

Lance beamed at his friend. It was a hologram that Haggar lunged after. Of course that wouldn’t last long. Lance and Shiro ran to the door, Thace taking up position behind them. In his hand was a hand full of small devices, explosives by the look of them.

It took only a minute or so for Haggar to see through their little deception, and when she did, she was absolutely furious. Thace hurled the explosives her way, and that was everyone’s cue to run like hell. Pidge scooped up the canister, her arms just reaching around the thing as she moved. Lance grabbed one of the doors with Shiro taking note and grabbing the other. As soon as Thace was out, they pulled the doors closed. With a click of a button, the explosives were activated.

The room, with Haggar in it, exploded in a brilliant fashion. Not that Lance could actually see it happening. He and the others were too busy running.

The journey back to their lions was a hectic one, with soldiers finally realizing that two of the Voltron Lions were sitting in one of their cargo bays. Luckily, none of them stood a chance against the raging force that was three paladins and a very angry Galra. They tore through the obstacles and made it to their respective cockpits with ease. 

Once inside Blue, Lance adjusted his coms. “Allura? Allura, can you hear me?”

“Lance! Oh, thank the stars you’re alright!” his sisters’ voice was a world of comfort.

“Yep, we’re all good. Our coms cut out when we found Haggar.”

“Oh Lance, I’ve never been more worried in my life.”

“Don’t worry sis, it’s gonna be okay. We found the Red Quintessence. We’re on our way to the castle now.”

“Be careful. There are more fighters out here than before. As soon as we have you all, we’re warping out of the system.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

With that, Lance took off with Green following close behind.

 

* * *

 

 

This was… good? Sort of.

The brilliant blue had found him, but not all of him.

Part of them was still missing and even blue’s comfort couldn’t stop the pain that came from being incomplete.

_It will be okay. We will be okay._

She keeps saying that, keeps reassuring him. But would it? Would it ever be okay again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were getting close to the end, my dears. Question: Is the happy ending I promised near? Or am I going to through one more curve ball at yah? I mean, there's still a lot that needs to happen, so who knows ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Wow I'm mean. But thank you all for reading and commenting, it really makes my day! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little stressful and also so much sweeter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My syntax savior, thanks [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for dealing with me :D

Lance rotated his shoulder, slowly and carefully. It felt as though Haggar’s claws had scraped his bones. A few hours in one of the pods managed to heal him, but there was still a bit of soreness there that he was trying to loosen up.

By some miracle, they had succeeded. The Red Quintessence was safe in their hands, all of them managed to escape in one piece, and now they were worlds away, safe and sound. Lance and Shiro were the worst when it came to injuries, but luckily there wasn’t anything too serious that a pod couldn’t fix. Hunk had done an incredible job holding off the Galra fleet and Pidge’s quick thinking managed to get them away from Haggar safely.

The witch was far more powerful than Lance could have imagined, and he really didn’t want to think of what might have happened if it weren’t for his small human friend.

As for the fifth part of their party, Thace hadn’t let the quintessence out of his sight. Lance hadn’t seen the Galra more than ten feet away from the canister since they got back. It made sense, of course. That was the one thing that would wake Keith up. Everyone was watching it cautiously.

Lance carefully stretched his arm up, feeling his muscles constrict at the movement. He was only in the pod for two hours, but he felt like he slept for years. The prince couldn’t imagine how Keith would be feeling once he woke up.

Lance strode past the med bay and headed towards the room where the pods were kept. After making it back on the ship, one of the first things he did was tell Keith of their success. Shortly after, Allura had shoved both Lance and Shiro into their own healing pods. As the glass closed and the cylinder began to cool, Lance looked ahead at Keith, overflowing with happiness at the fact that they were one step closer to fixing this.

The space by Keith’s pod was now occupied with all sorts of tech. Coran had wheeled in different computers and bits of machines to begin solving the mystery of returning Keith’s quintessence to his body. Pidge and Hunk were usually at his side, ready to help at any moment, but they didn’t quite understand quintessence enough to do anything but speculate. In fact, the only person that seemed to have any inclination on what to do was Allura.

The prince walked over to his sister, stopping briefly to glance up at Keith’s calm face under the glow of the pod. Allura was standing in front of the Red Quintessence, her hand resting on the thick glass that encased it. Next to her, Thace was watching the swirling energy intensely, still as a statue. For a moment, Lance didn’t want to break the silence, but his curiosity got the better of him.

“So, any ideas yet?” he asked, keeping his voice relatively low.

Allura dropped her hand with a sigh. “Nothing solid yet. Coran has a few ideas, but we have no clue if they will work.”

“Do you, I don’t know, feel anything with your magical, mystical powers?”

“It’s not magic, Lance.”

“Close enough.” He shrugged.

The princess sighed once more, turned her attention back to the quintessence. “I can say with certainty that the energy here is unstable, most likely due to Lotor’s theft. It feels… warm and volatile, almost eager with anticipation. I think… I think it wants something.”

Lance stared at his sister as she carefully put together a description of the essence in front of her. This gift she had, of feeling out and sensing quintessence, it was truly remarkable. The main thing that Lance  noticed was that she was talking about it like it was sentient. She said that it wanted something. 

“Is it… alive?” he asked tentatively.

“The simple answer is yes, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Allura explained. “Quintessence is what makes life thrive, what makes it unique, so yes it is sentient in a way. When I concentrate, I can feel a whole range of emotions. Raw and uninhibited. It’s a little overwhelming if I’m being honest. But, there is no real consciousness there. Just the ghost of one.”

Lance felt his throat constrict. Haggar’s words floated around his head, forcing themselves into his mind where they repeated over and over with horribly clarity.

_“Once removed, quintessence is not so easily returned. Your little mission is pointless.”_

The prince tried to slow his breathing, tried to think positively, but he just had to know.

“Is this going to work, ‘lura? Or am I… am I getting my hopes up for nothing?”

Allura spun around, her eyes full of concern. “Of course this is going to work.”

“But Haggar—“

“I don’t care what that witch said. If something can be removed, it can be put back.”

“But what if things don’t go back to normal after this? What Keith is different after all of this?”

At this moment, Thace joined in the conversation. “Even if things go perfectly, I can guarantee that Keith will not be the same.”

The royal siblings stopped and turned towards the Galra. His dark amber eyes were somber, still focused on the canister in front of them. Thace took a moment to collect his thoughts before addressing the siblings.

“My nephew has been through much in these past months, most of which neither of you have any idea of. When he wakes up, he is going to be different. It’s up to us to make sure that that change is for the better. After all, I hardly recognize the two of you.”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked.

“Neither of you look or act like the royals I saw back on Altea. You have changed through the hardships forced upon you and come out stronger than ever before. Support Keith, and he will come out stronger too. Different, but strong.”

The truth of those words set Lance at ease. Both he and his sister were not quite the same as they were back on Altea. Lance especially felt more secure in his skin, more confident in his abilities and strengths. He was by no means over his anxieties and his doubts, but they felt less prevalent than before. More manageable a in way. Lance began to wonder if he would seem different to Keith when the Galra boy finally woke up.

“Thanks, Thace.” The young prince turned to the commander. Thace finally looked away from the quintessence and shared a small smile with the prince.

Moments later, the door behind them slid open and Coran and Hunk were striding in, both with new equipment in their hands.

Coran noticed them first. “Ah, there you two are. I was just about to send Pidge to find you.”

“What’s all this for?” Allura asked as her eyes flitted over items in their hands.

“Well, Hunk here had a brilliant idea about how to give the quintessence back to Keith.”

Lance bounded over to his friend, nearly causing the young man to drop everything he was holding. “You did? Hunk, you’re a genius!”

Hunk flushed. “I didn’t really do much. I just asked the right questions and Coran came up with a solid plan.”

“I bet there’s more to it than that. So what’s the big plan?”

Hunk took a moment to set down the things he was carrying before explaining. “Remember the first week we here in the castle and Coran took us on a tour? Well, yesterday I was wondering around, and I ended up getting lost and finding those extraction pods things. I remember Coran telling us that the pods were used to preserve a person’s essence, kind of like uploading files to a hard drive. So I kind just got to thinking, if this thing could take that stuff out, it shouldn’t be too hard to rewire it so it would put things back in, right?”

Everyone stared at the human with wide hopeful eyes. Coran was beaming with pride as he slapped Hunk on the shoulder.

“Afterwards, he came and found me, we talked about it a bit and I think we’ve managed to come up with a device that will work.”

“You… you’re serious?” Lance felt like he was going to explode.

His advisor smiled, twisting the end of his mustache with his fingers. “Quite serious, highness. It might take some time, but I believe that this will work.”

The prince didn’t waste any time with words and leaped at Coran, wrapping him up in a hug. He reached out to Hunk, pulling him in as soon as he could, and squeezed the living daylight out of his friends.

“Thank you… thank you so much.” His voice nearly cracked from the weight of his relief. All this time, and he was still worried that things might not work. Still paranoid that everything that could go wrong would go wrong, repeating itself over and over again in some sick pattern. But no, not this time. This time, everything was going _right._ The future was finally clear, and in it, Keith was awake and healthy and _alive_. The image burned itself into his heart and Lance knew that nothing was going to stop him from making that picture come true.

Thace shook both Hunk and Coran’s hands, his eyes gleaming with the same joy that Lance felt, albeit much more subdued. After everyone took a few moments to revel in the news, it was time to get to work.

Everyone was called to the pod room. Their plan required taking Keith out of the pod while Coran, Hunk and Pidge made minor modifications to both the interior and exterior. Ulaz and Thace caught Keith as he fell out of the pod and carried him over to a bed that had been wheeled in from the med bay. Lance couldn’t help himself and latched on to Keith’s hand as soon as he was situated. He was so cold, almost alarmingly so, but the rational part of Lance’s mind knew that it was just a side effect from the cryopod.

 The three set to work with Allura and Shiro, helping where ever they could. The two other Galra on the ship were keeping their distance with Thace, watching them work from where he stationed himself by the quintessence. Ulaz on the other hand was standing next to Keith, running a few tests to see how he was fairing. A good portion of their plan rested on the Galran physician. He had the power to end their plan with a swift word if Keith’s health dropped or his body was showing too much strain. Ulaz was currently collecting information on Keith’s physiology to better understand what was normal and what was not.

Lance felt a little useless at this point, watching everyone go about their business in making this work. However, the cold limp hand in his just needed to be held. Lance felt as though he needed to be sitting by Keith at this moment. The prince had done his job already. He’d retrieved the Red Quintessence just like he promised he would. Now, it was time for his friends to work.

With his anxiety reined in, Lance sat to the side and observed as the others worked meticulously. The pod now had multiple tubes and wires running from the inside out. A particularly large tube was attached to the top of the quintessence canister that Thace had moved to the edge of the pod. After a few hours of checking everything and running tests, Coran determined it was time to move forward.

Keith was settled back into the pod, but not before being hooked up to several different things. There were monitors taped to his chest, an IV buried in the vein of his right arm, and a small device that clamped onto the back of his neck. Once the pod closed, the cryo process began, bathing Keith in a cool blue light.

Coran was typing away, stationed at a computer they hooked up to be the mediator between the quintessence and the pod. The Red Quintessence was churning and moving, like flares off a sun. Lance watched for a while, wondering if that was a good sign.

“What’s next, Coran?” Allura asked for all of them.

“Now, we wait.” The advisor stepped aside, letting everyone see the diagram on the screen. “The channel is open from the quintessence to Keith. Now all that matters is whether or not his body accepts it. Considering this is the same process we use for extracting a person’s essence but in reverse, it should work.”

“Okay, probably should have asked this before, but what the difference between quintessence and whatever it is that you guys download?” Pidge pushed up her glasses. She brought up a very good point.

Coran twisted his mustache as all eyes were suddenly on him. “Well to be honest, I don’t really know. When we preserve a person’s memories, we aren’t exactly taking anything out. It’s more like making a copy of it. King Alfor had been recording his memories for years and he wasn’t affected by it at all.”

“He did?” Lance and Allura looked at one another, their eyes wide.

“He did. The files have been scrambled a bit, but I’ve been working on it a little by little. I was going to surprise you two with the finished product once I recalibrated the drives.”

Lance reached out and held his sister’s hand. The idea of being able to talk to his father again, reminisce about the time they spent together, it painted over the scar he had carried in his heart ever since Alfor had passed. It wasn’t enough to heal the siblings, nothing truly could, but it would comfort them when times were hard and life was unforgiving. Lance felt Allura squeeze his hand.

“Thank you, Coran. For everything.” She smiled brightly, speaking for the both of them.   

It was quiet after that, everyone hovering around Keith’s pod with a nervous excitement. Thace and Shiro were replicas of one another, standing still with their arms crossed and staring at the quintessence like it held all the secrets in the universe. Ulaz kept a steady eye on all of Keith’s vitals in case of any changes, while Coran talked with him idly about the tech they had employed.

Out of all of them, Allura was the first to leave. She had duties to attend to, including making sure they were safe from the Galra. She went to the bridge after a short goodbye, telling them to keep her updated with any changes.

Hunk was next, after his stomach grumbled so loudly that everyone turned to look at him. The big guy was so engrossed in his work earlier that he completely forgotten to eat lunch. He trotted off to the kitchen with Pidge following behind to keep him company.

Coran was next, leaving to repair a few small damages the lions had received on their last mission.

Trusting Thace to call him if anything changed, Ulaz left as well for some well-deserved rest after a long few days aboard this crazy castle ship. The only ones left were Shiro, Lance, and Thace.

The prince had long ago taken up a spot on the floor. He laid on the cool metal surface, occasionally raising his legs to point straight at the ceiling. He’d pull his legs, one at a time, as close to his chest as he could, stretching his muscles bit by bit. Eventually, when that got boring, he rolled onto his stomach and propped his chin up on his arms.

“Anything yet?” he asked the other two.

“Nothing.” Shiro’s answer was stoic and void of his usual warmth. It was clear he was getting a little frustrated.

Lance sighed, mentally picturing himself sinking into the floor. It’s true that the canister of quintessence did look more active, swirling around looking like molten lava, but that’s all it did. It looked to be the same amount as when the first started. So far, none of it had made its way back to Keith.

“Why don’t you get something to eat, highness? You look a little worn out.” Shiro smiled kindly at the young prince.

“I’m going to hang out here a little longer. Just in case, y’know?”

“Okay.”

Lance sat up, crossing his legs as he did so. He finally tore his gaze away from the quintessence and looked up at Keith.

He took in Keith’s fluffy ears and long dark hair, he thought of the bright amber color of his eyes. Lance remembered the sound of his voice, low and smooth and oh so wonderful. In his mind he thought of the few times they actually touched, and unfortunately most of those instances were the result of something bad.

Like when Lance stupidly almost fell off the roof and Keith had to catch him. The resulting bruise on his arm had likely convinced Keith to never touch him again. Under normal circumstances, his bodyguard might have done that, if not for the attack on Altea. Lance remembered that day vividly and how warm Keith’s cheek was, swollen by a bruise. He remembers pulling each other to safety, the touches between them harsh and desperate.

Finally, Lance remembers his first failed rescue attempt. He remembered sitting in that damn hallway, clutching a visibly shaken Keith in his arms while the two tried to quell their tears. The light press of Keith’s lips on his hand not once, but twice as they realized they had to part yet again. So many times, and some many moments, most of which were overshadowed by danger or despair.

Lance brought his knees close to his chest, tucking his head out of sight as he closed his eyes. _Will we ever…? Will we ever get to be normal?_

Lance was sure how long he was sitting like that, whether or not he dozed off during that time, what he does know was that the next thing he heard was Thace yelling into the com and glass breaking.

* * *

 So close. So close to being normal once again. All it would take was just a little push…

_You cannot. Not until the part that was stolen has been found._

Yes, that lingering part of them that continues to drift away. The pain of being separated is constant now, but easily ignored when surrounded by all the others. It should be… yes, going back it should be fine. The pain was manageable. Now, they could go back to where they belong and help the others find the missing part of them.

_No. Going back now will only cause more harm._

But going back means _being_ with them. Not just being near them, but truly living and being a part of their lives

Going back means being held by blue, by Lance. That name floated up from somewhere in their depths and was suddenly the only thing that made sense.

He was here, so close. Close enough to reach out and hold. Close enough to share his warmth.

There was a path open to them, a way to gain back some semblance of self. All he had to do was take the road that had been opened to them…

_Not yet! Wait until all of us is found—_

Waiting is agony. The part of them that was stolen might take years to recover. This was a chance to be with them, with him, and giving that up wasn’t an option.

_I can’t stop you… but heed my warning. This will be painful._

Pain has been a part of his life since he was a child. He knew how to deal with pain.

_Not like this. You’re not prepared for this._

Keith opened his eyes.

 

For a brief moment, his vision was clear. Keith could see the teal haze of the glass in front of him, his uncle’s form standing just beyond the glass and gazing off to the side. He could see Shiro off to the right, his arms crossed and eyes focused on the ground. Finally, there was Lance, sitting on the ground with his long legs crossed, and with a sort of dreamy look on his face. He was so close, all of them were so close and now Keith could go to them, he could be with them once again.

_You’re not prepared for this._

Just as her words floated back into mind, Keith felt like his body was on fire. The frigid air that surrounded him suddenly felt boiling hot and Keith was sure that he was going to melt. However the pain in his body was nothing compared to the pounding in his skull. It felt like fireworks had been set off in his head and now they were flying around like mad, crashing into one another and creating bigger explosions to rattle his skull.

Keith’s vision became blurred, his thoughts too wild to fully grasp. The sight of Thace, Shiro, and Lance just outside of the glass burned away and all Keith could do was search for a way to escape the pain.

Keith thrashed, his arms and legs banging against the metal walls that surrounded him. He felt something embedded at the back of his neck and frantically tried to grasp it. His quivering hands fumbled and he ended up scratching himself in a hurried attempt to get the thing off him. Finally, he managed to grab ahold of the device and yanked it away from his neck, grunting in pain as it was harshly removed. A similar feeling on his arm got Keith’s attention and soon he was ripping out another needle that had somehow been rooted in his skin.

The next thing he needed to do was get out. Keith’s hands fumbled on around the small space he was contained in, his racing mind not able to figure out what the purpose of this place was. His attention focused on the wall in front of him when he realized (remembered?) that the wall in front of him was glass.

Keith raised a closed fist and pulled back as far as he could. He punched the glass with all his might, desperate to get out of this strange place and find a way to ease this burning in his body. Two powerful blows were all it took until it shattered, coating his hand in glass.

Fresh air whooshed into his lung, and for a moment the burning eased, but only for a moment. Keith blinked, his vision still hazy like a heavy mist coating his eyes. His head seemed to pound even more so and he doubled over with his hands on either side of his head.

 _Stop… why won’t it stop!?_ Frantic words raced through his mind, unable to think anything else.

Surrounding him were voices, their shouts and words not registering to him at all. Keith felt something drift closer to him, a presence that reached for him. A startling weight landed on his back and Keith didn’t know what to do. He reacted almost by instinct, shoving them away and taking a few stumbling steps forward.

The figure went for him again, a blurry mess in Keith’s watery eyes. He flung his arms out, swinging like he was going to punch them. The figure backed off, spouting out more words that Keith couldn’t comprehend. All he wanted was to get away, to find something to get rid of this fire that coating his veins. He began to run, escaping to try and find relief.

The fireworks rattling in his skull flared and Keith was gasping. He crashed to his knees, hands flying back up to his head as a scream tore from his mouth.

It was just like she said, this pain was too much.

Keith didn’t see or feel them coming this time, but the blurry figure that he shoved off was back with two others. They moved quickly, one latching around his middle and hugging tightly. Keith moved to shove the presence away, but his hands were caught and pulled down, firmly holding them so he couldn’t move them. The third figure knelt right in front of him, hands coming up and cupping his face, holding his head up right as the fire in his body raged.

_“K-eith!”_

His name was spoken in such a sad, desperate tone. Keith flinched at the sound, wondering where it was coming from. He cracked open his eyes, blinking rapidly to try and focus the people in front of him. A surge of heat in his head cause him to whimper, wriggling against the arms he was wrapped in.

It was then that he noticed, his mind was becoming clearer. The points of contact along his body where the strangers held him were beginning to cool the fire that raged below his skin. It pulsed weakly against the others, still burning, but dying down to nothing more than smoldering embers.  However, his mind was still alight, raging against his more coherent thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut.

“Keith… can you open your eyes? Please… look at me…”

Reluctantly, Keith did as he was asked. His vision was still a bit hazy, but now he could actually make out what he was seeing. The room around them was large and gray, the celling reaching too high for him to see. The ground was cool against his knees and the air was crisp and clean. Keith focused his attention to the person still cupping his face.

“T-Thace?” he croaked, his eyes slowly taking in the familiar sight of his uncle.

His uncle smiled. “Yes… yes, little one.”

A hand ruffled Keith’s hair, the motion soothing. Another flare made him whimper. “Th-Thace… it hurts… my h-head is _burning_ ,”

“Shh, just calm down. And take a deep breath. The others are coming, they can help you.”

“It hurts…”

“I know just- just focus on us, alright? Focus on us.”

“Us…?” Keith knew there were others near him, but hadn’t been able to spread his attention past Thace. Finally he looked around. His mind was slow to identify the face on his left, smoke from the fire raging inside him making it hard to focus. When he finally recognized Shiro’s face, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.

“Shiro… you’re okay.” He stared hard at his human friend, making sure that his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. The last time he saw Shiro, the man was being dragged away by the Druids.

Shiro smiled kindly, his grip on Keith’s trapped wrists loosening some. “Hey, buddy. Yeah, I’m fine. It’s good to see you awake.”

Keith moved in Shiro’s grasp and held his hands tightly with his own, reaffirming that what he was seeing was real. He took a deep, shuttering breath, realizing that there was still one more person wrapped around his torso. The person was sitting flush against his back, their face pressed into his shoulder. Keith turned his head, silver hair and tan skin visible in the corner of his eye. His heart began to pound in his chest as all sorts of memories came flooding into his mind.

“L-Lance?” His voice was hardly above a whisper. The pounding of the fireworks in his head pushed down to a dull throb as bright blue eyes met his tired amber ones.

 “Keith.” The prince smiled, his cheeks wet with recently shed tears.

“You… you’re here…”

“Yes. Yes I’m here, Keith. I’m here.”

“…Lance,” Keith suddenly felt weak, the fire that blazed through his body retreating for now leaving him exhausted. His grip on Shiro’s hand slipped as he fell back into Lance’s chest.

“Keith?” The worry in the prince’s voice set a flutter though his heart.

“I… I’m fine. Just, tired.”

Thace swept back Keith’s sweaty bangs. “Let’s get him to the med bay and lay him down. Princess Allura and Ulaz can do their assessment in there.”

Keith frowned, confused as to why Allura and Ulaz were mentioned in the same sentence. Last he remembered, Ulaz was a physician on Zarkon’s ship, aiding the Druids at times. He tried to wrap his head around this odd predicament.

Suddenly, Thace disappeared from his line of sight. Lance’s voice was in his ear.

“We’re going to get you to a bed. Can you stand?”

“I-I’ll try.” Keith felt Lance’s embrace shift as the prince ducked beneath Keith’s arm and held onto his waist securely. Shiro mimicked the action on his other side, the two hoisted Keith’s frail body up, and began moving.

Keith shut his eyes, focusing on keeping the heat inside him under control. The last thing he wanted was to lash out again and hurt someone.

The walk was short and, soon enough, Keith found himself lowered onto a plush bed, lying down against the stark white sheets while faces hovered above him. He felt someone lift his arm from where it rested on his stomach, the action stinging more than it should have. He flinched, tensing.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Lance placed a cool hand on his forehead, pulling his focus to those blue eyes. “Ulaz is just fixing up your arm. Punching glass wasn’t the best idea you’ve ever hand.” The small joke pulled a huff of laughter from the prince.

Keith relaxed, nodding as he let Ulaz go to work removing the glass that he foolishly broke. With the soft bed drawing the stress out of his body, and Lance’s cool hand cupping his own, Keith drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

“I can say without a doubt, that the process worked,” Allura had one hand on Keith’s forehead while the other was resting on his chest. “Keith’s quintessence has been restored. However, it seems that _all_ of the Red Quintessence in now inside him.”

“All?” Thace asked tentatively. “You mean… the half that belongs to the Red Lion is with him as well? Is that why he was in so much pain?”

“Yes, I believe so. I can only speculate, but since a part of their quintessence was separated, it seems as though all that was left went to one host, instead of splitting up and returning to where it should.”

“So where ever the Red Lion is, it’s still without any power because Keith absorbed all of their quintessence.”

“That would be my guess.”

The silence that permeated through the room was deafening. No one knew what to do with the current situation. Everyone had held out hope that this process would eventually restore Keith, but none of them could have guessed that the process would be so quick and with such staggering results. Hunk and Coran in particular looked a little more haggard than the rest.

Ulaz had long ago finished his work, removing the shards of glass from Keith’s arm and properly bandaging the wound. In his current condition, putting him back in the pod wasn’t an option unless they wanted a repeat performance. Now the physician was sitting back, a worried crease on his brow as he reviewed information on a tablet in his hands. Curious, Lance sat up and addressed the Galra.

“How is he, Ulaz? Besides the obvious.”

The stoic Galra glanced up at the prince. “He is… stable, for now. The pain he was referring to must have subsided.”

“… but?”

“But, I am still worried about his health. Right now, his body is acting as though he has a high fever. His pulse is elevated and his temperature is steadily rising, like his immune system is trying to fight off a virus.”

“Only there in no virus, just an… imbalance. Too much of something in one place.”

Ulaz nodded. “Correct, your highness. I worry about his health if he is to continue in this state for too long.”

“Then I guess we just have to find Lotor sooner.” Shiro took over the conversation, looking determined as ever. “We’ve learned time and time again that Lotor is willing to do anything for power, and now that he has some, there’s nothing stopping him from using it. We have to find him and put an end to his madness, and not just for Keith, but also for all the innocent lives he threatens throughout the universe.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Shiro.” Allura stepped back from the bed. “It’s time to get to work and end this.”

Taking her word as final, the heavy silence that engrossed the rest of the paladins quickly subsided. Pidge was already at Allura’s shoulder, soaking up any information she could about the tracking capabilities on the ship. Hunk had already been helping Coran repair the lions, and the two went off to finish their work along with running maintenance on the castle as well.

Lance moved to go with them, to help where ever he could, but a small pull on his hand rooted him in place. Keith was fast asleep, curled up on his side almost wrapped into a ball. The prince had been holding his hand throughout their entire conversation and suddenly he didn’t feel like moving at all. Keith looked peaceful now, but what if he started acting up again? What if the pain came back and no one was there to comfort him?

Standing at the prince’s side, Thace put a hand on his shoulder. “You can stay here if you like.”

“But… the others,”

“We’ll manage, I’m sure. Besides, someone needs to watch him, incase anything changes.”

“Well what about you or Ulaz?”

“Ulaz has been dragged to the control room by the Green Paladin and the princess. His skills range far beyond that of a simple physician, and he is more than willing to help. As for me… I am in the need of rest. It’s been a long few days and I wouldn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of danger.”

Thace offered a small, kind smile that warmed Lance. The prince nodded, sitting back down in the chair he placed next to Keith’s bed.

“I kind of thought that you’d want to stay here, with him,” Lance began, glancing at the sleeping form in front of him. “After all, you barely let the quintessence out of sight.”

“Yes, well, I was a little overprotective in that case, but I don’t need to worry about Keith now. Not when he’s with you.”

Whatever words the prince had on the edge of his tongue quickly evaporated when Thaces words were fully processed. Lance whipped his head around to the older Galra only see him walking away with a small bounce in his shoulders like he was quietly laughing. The prince relaxed, focusing his attention back to Keith. Lance rested his chin on the soft white bed and chuckled.

“Looks like I got your uncle’s approval. Good thing too, things would have been really awkward if I continued to try and court you if Thace didn’t like me. Ugh… I can’t even imagine the conversations…”

Lance smiled as his imagination ran away from him. He thought about Thace acting the part of a annoyed relative, secretly trying to sabotage their relationship from the get go with Keith being completely stubborn and ignoring his uncle’s protests. It was quickly turning into the plot from one of the cheesy books he used to sneak from Allura’s room. Stories of forbidden love between opposing kingdoms, and the drama of stolen kisses in the gardens or secret meetings outside of castle walls. His mind started to work in the rest of his friends and soon enough, he had a whole plot figured out about him and Keith, star-crossed lovers navigating a political minefield.

His eyes began to droop as the plush bed underneath his head seemed to be engulfing him. All the excitement and worry that came when Keith woke up was finally taking its toll. Despite his best efforts, Lance nodded off to sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long he was out; if it was a few minutes or a few hours, but the next thing he knew there was a warm hand running through his hair. Lance hummed at the gentle contact, taking his time to wake up. His eyes flickered open to see a somewhat groggy looking Galra.

“Keith…” Each time he said the name, it was like rush of relief fluttered though his body. Keith blinked at him, his eyes vibrant despite the bags under them. His hand stilled in Lance’s hair until eventually he slowly removed it.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” His voice was so soft and almost dreamy, like he was still half asleep.

Lance sat up and leaned his arms on the edge of the bed. “Don’t worry, its fine. I really shouldn’t have been napping anyway. I have to keep an eye on you.”

Keith’s expression didn’t change. He looked at Lance in an almost confused way, no hint of happiness or amusement in any form. Lance gulped but tried to keep a positive attitude.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Umm… o-okay? My head hurts a lot, and my arm… oh.” Keith stared at the bandages on his right arm. He rotated his wrist some, trying to assess the damage without tearing off the wrapping completely. “Where… where am I?”

“You’re in the med bay of the Castle of Lions. We rescued you, just like I promised.”

Keith looked away from Lance, his eyes slowly tracing over the room they were sitting in. “Is this… is this real?”

Lance gasped quietly at the question. Suddenly, Keith’s passive demeanor made sense. He wasn’t sure if he’d really been saved or not. The prince sat up and edged his chair closer to the head of the bed and firmly grasped both of Keith’s hands in his own.

“This is real, Keith. We rescued you from Zarkon, from Lotor. You’re in the Castle of Lions with me and Allura and— and all the others. I’m here and all of this is real.”

The first bits of emotion began to flicker on Keith’s face as his fluffy ears perked up. He stared hard at Lance’s hands wrapped around his own and let out a shaky breath, “… _real_ … you’re really here…”

“I’m really here, Keith.” Lance tried to thrust ever bit of confidence and assurance into those four words.

A real, genuine smile broke on Keith’s face. His eyes shimmered as he gently pulled Lance down for an embrace. Keith hugged Lance like the prince was going to disappear at any moment. His arms held him hard and almost desperately. Lance couldn’t help the delighted laugh that bubbled out from his chest as he buried his face into the crook of Keith’s neck. All the while, he could hear Keith muttering over and over again, _you’re here… you’re here… I can’t believe you’re really here._

Lance was perfectly content staying like that forever. Even though the edge of the bed was digging into his hip and the soreness in his arm hadn’t completely gone away, he was too happy to care about those things. However, there were other thing he had been desperate to try, and now seemed like as good a time as any to give it a shot.

The prince carefully untangled himself, pulling away just far enough so that he could properly look Keith in the eye. Those striking amber eyes were glistening in the light, so wide and trusting, so full of wonder, Lance couldn’t help himself, he leaned down and kissed Keith.

It was soft and quick, no more than a peck, but it sent a shudder down the prince’s spine the likes of which he’d never experienced before. Lance pulled back, his eyes immediately darting to meet Keith’s. The Galra boy looked shell-shocked; his gaze huge and cheeks a good few shades darker than before. In a breath, all of Lance’s bravado whooshed out of him.

“Umm s-sorry! I-I should have asked first, but— aw, quiznak, I don’t know… you were just _there_ and I was here, and I-I wanted to do that for a long time! B-but y’know, things happened and we were separated for a long time and—“

Lance’s rambling was cut off by a gentle tug on his shirt. The flush on Keith’s cheeks was even darker and his ears seemed to be fluffier than usual. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to, all he did was pull Lance closer until the two were kissing again.

The prince felt like he was going melt right there and end up a flustered puddle on the floor. Keith’s lips were chapped and warm, moving softly to try and find a better angle. Lance was carried away by the sensation, barely following along until something changed and the somewhat awkward press of lips turned into an actual passionate kiss. Keith hummed, his chest vibrating from the deep sound as his lips curled into a smile. Lance let out a few breathy chuckles before diving in and kissing the Galra over and over again.

The happy moment lasted about a minute before Keith abruptly pulled back, hissing like he was in pain.

“K-Keith? Are you okay?” Lance glanced at Keith’s wrapped arm, trying to see if it had bled through the bandages. “Hey, talk to me… what’s wrong?”

Keith closed his eyes tightly, his uninjured hand dropped from Lance’s shoulder and was now fisting the sheets. “Its… it’s m-my head. Feels like something is pounding it with a hammer.” He turned away, burying the side of his face into the pillow.

Lance dashed away from the bedside and fetched some water from tap on the counter. On his way back, he dimmed the lights, thinking that what Keith was feeling was similar to a migraine. He carefully coaxed Keith sit up, speaking in low tones and using comforting words. Lance managed to get Keith to drink the entire glass before he lay back down. Keith shoved the blanket off of his body and curled back up on his side, covering his quivering ear with his hand.

Hesitantly, Lance sat back down. “Are you feeling any better?” He didn’t speak above a whisper.

Keith gave a noncommittal huff as a reply.

“Does it hurt anywhere else? Your arm or maybe your neck?” Lance had momentarily forgotten that Keith had roughly ripped out the device at the back of his neck. Honestly the Galra boy was lucky that he only suffered a few minor cuts instead of something more serious.

“…e’rrywhere…” Keith mumbled, his voice barely audible.

Lances heart sunk. “Everywhere? I… I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. You just have to deal with it a little bit longer, okay?”

“…missing…”

“Huh? Did you say ‘missing’?”

Keith nodded, bringing his legs closer to his chest. He cracked open one eye, the usual color distorted with a meek red glow. “Missing… stolen… it _hurts_ …”

Lance immediately tried to soothe his companion, scratching behind his ear and stroking his hair. “I know, I know… the others, they're working on finding Lotor. He’s the one that stolen part of the quintessence. We’ll find him, okay? We’ll find him.”

Keith nodded, closing his eyes tight once more. After a few minutes of this, Keith’s breathing evened out as he slowly fell back asleep. Lance sighed, still running his fingers through Keith’s hair.

So, Keith did know what had happened, or at least there was a part of him that knew his quintessence was stolen. Judging by the red shine to his eye, Lance wanted to say that it was the Red Lion talking at the moment, but, of course, he couldn’t be sure. Whatever pain Keith was feeling seemed to come and go, giving him moments of calm before it took over once again. Lance lamented at the short time they actually got to talk, but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel warm at the thought of their first and second kiss.

The young prince continued to sit by his former bodyguard’s side while the latter slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff? From me? In this story?? Who would have guessed lol. Hope you all liked this one! It won't be the end of the fluffy times, I promise, but there's still some loose ends to tie up. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and commenting, it really makes my day!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Boss Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill. Thank [annalyia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia) for saving my grammar. 
> 
> also, i'm sorry.
> 
> (ーー;)

The next time Keith awoke, Lance wasn’t there. His momentary panic was quickly pushed aside when he recognized his uncle sitting in Lance’s chair.

“Thace.” Keith sat up slowly, resting on his uninjured arm.

Thace smiled at his nephew, the tension in his shoulders ebbing away. “Keith… how are you feeling?”

“Okay… kind of stiff and I have a headache.”

Thace nodded like this was the answer he was expecting. On a small table next to him, there was a pitcher full of water and a container of food. “Here, sit up. You need to get some nutrients in your body.”

Keith did as he was told and pushed himself up, with Thace adjusting the pillows so that his nephew could sit back comfortably. Keith readily drank the water, the cool liquid a soothing contradiction compared to the heat that was simmering in his body. The food however, left him confused.

“It’s… gooey and _green_?” He poked the substance with his spoon, taking a quick sniff.

His uncle chuckled. “It is a bit strange, but good. Think of it like the military rations only better tasting.”

Keith eyed his uncle wearily but scooped up the food none the less. The taste was better than the typical stuff he was used to, but the texture was downright weird. It wasn’t really a liquid or a solid, and it felt like his was coating the inside of his mouth with paint. He pondered for a second if his tongue would be green after the meal. 

Once he was done, he gave the bowl back to Thace, who handed over another glass of water. Now that he was fed, it was time to find out what exactly was going on.

“Thace, how did I get here?”

Not one to beat around the bush, Thace looked his nephew in the eye and explained everything. From their failed attempts to get to Keith before Haggar reached her goal, to the threat of Lotor betraying Zarkon’s wishes and stealing a part of his quintessence, and finally their fight with Haggar and how they managed to take back what rightfully belonged to Keith.

“The humans that Princess Allura and Prince Lance befriended are quite impressive.” Thace crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair as he spoke. “It was thanks to Yellow Paladin’s suggestion and the Green Paladin’s resourcefulness that we were able to restore you. With the added help of the Royal Advisor, the three of them were able to create a solution in just over two vargas. There is no amount of words to express my thanks to them.”

Keith felt strange knowing just how much these strangers did for him. He had no connection to them, nothing except for his relationship with Lance. Did the prince somehow convince these humans to help? Or were they really just that kind?

“I’d like to meet them” he said finally. “I need to thank them for everything they’ve done for me, for a stranger.”

“You will, but not right now. The ship cycle is currently in the middle of the night. Everyone is asleep.”

“Except for you.”

“I had my rest. His highness was kind enough to watch over you while I slept.”

Keith nodded, expecting this answer. In that moment, his headache flared and Keith sunk down into his bed a little more. The sheet that he’d shoved off the night before was covering him again. Keith quickly pulled it off  to try and get more comfortable.

Thace seemed prepared somehow and brushed back Keith’s bangs to put a cool cloth on his forehead. The cloth did little for his pounding head, but the sentiment was soothing enough.

“Are you in much pain?” Thace asked, keeping his voice low.

Keith winced as the ache in his body returned. “It- it comes and goes, but yes… when it comes it’s kind of terrible. Not only that, but I’m having a hard time remembering. It’s all there, somewhere in my head, but it’s taking me longer to think about things. Like last night, it took me way too long to remember Lance’s name.”

When he first opened his eyes, lying amongst those soft sheets with his head on that comfortable pillow, his mind outright refused to let him believe that moment was real. Seeing Lance sitting next to him, sleeping peacefully with his hand gently resting on top of Keith’s, the image was just too incredible to be anything but a dream.

Even when the prince assured Keith that it was real, it took a while to settle, and when it did Keith felt incredibly relieved. That relief was coupled with shock after the prince leaned down and kissed him. All the while during that tender moment, Keith couldn’t think of a name for his prince. The importance of the moment and of the person sitting next to him wasn’t lost, but the name was. It wasn’t until Lance had leaned down for a second kiss that Keith was finally able to recall his name.

“I’m sorry, little one. We had no idea that something like this could happen. We should have been more cautious.” Thace’s gaze drifted downwards, his brow furrowing in thought. “It must be because of Lotor. When I saw him before I escaped, he had mentioned that he could see some of you memories, that they were attached to the quintessence he stole. None of us thought… _I_ didn’t think something like this could happen.”

“It’s fine... really. I’d much rather be sitting here like this than be stuck as an empty shell. Besides, this isn’t permanent.”

Thace nodded in agreement. He removed the now warm cloth from Keith’s forehead, replacing it with another cool compress. It seemed his uncle had thought of everything.

For a moment, it seemed that Thace was struggling with something, an unfamiliar look on his face that bordered on uncomfortable. It seemed that there was something he wanted to ask. Eventually, the older Galra managed to speak.

“Do you… remember anything? After your quintessence was taken?”

Keith paused, closing his eyes and battling against his stubborn memory and throbbing headache. “I… not really? Nothing solid anyway, but thinking about it… all these _feelings_ are coming back.”

“Feelings?”

“Yeah, sensations, emotions. Uncertainty, doubt and… and fear. And then there’s agony. An ache like nothing I’ve ever felt. It’s the same feeling I get now, when I have to close my eyes and curl into myself. That feeling wasn’t always there, so it must have started when Lotor took part of my quintessence.” Keith clenched his fists, thinking about the Galra prince who seemed to have a personal vendetta against him. Knowing that he was still the reason behind his pain was aggravating.

Thace placed his hand on top of Keith’s shaking fist. The gentle action conveyed a world of unspoken worries and apologies. It was his uncle’s way of trying to express the overwhelming emotions that were pressing down on him. Keith took a moment to push aside his anger at Lotor, and placed his other hand on top of Thace’s.

It had been so long since Keith had any semblance of family that he had forgotten. Whatever happened to him wasn’t suffered through alone. He had someone who shared his struggles, who felt hurt watching what he went through. Thace needed to be reassured and comforted just as much as Keith did.

Thace and Keith sat there for a long while, Keith learning how to manage the pain he felt. He fell asleep sometime later, his body too exhausted for him to stay awake.

The fresh, familiar scent of his prince stirred him back to conciseness. Lance had returned, sitting in the chair next to the bed. The tired bags he had under his eyes were now gone and an easy smile had taken up residence on his lips. That smile grew wider when Lance realized that Keith had woken up, and Keith was relieved when he could easily recall his prince’s name.

“Good morning, well actually afternoon, but who cares.” Lance moved closer and folded his arms on the edge of the bed.

The steady pounding in Keith’s head seemed to dissipate the moment he laid eyes on the prince. “Hello.”

“Hi. Are you hungry?”

“A little,” Keith admitted. “Is it going to be that weird green stuff again?”

Lance laughed. “Yeah, that’s pretty much all we have. We haven’t had a chance to land and pick up supplies, but Hunk can make it taste better. Hey, do you want to meet him? As long as you’re feeling up to it, that is.”

The prince perked up, his eyes taking on a familiar excited sparkle. Keith couldn’t say no to that. “I’d like that. I also want to thank him for all his help.”

“Sounds great, but first, you need to shower.” Lance pushed himself up and helped Keith sit up.

“What?”

“Look, I really like you and you’re really great and everything, but you stink. Time to hose you down, Galra boy.”

Keith flushed and tucked his ears close to his head in embarrassment.

Despite his teasing, Lance was right. The cool water felt amazing running down his body. Keith stood practically motionless under the spray while the heat running rampent through his body was gradually calmed yet again. He wasn’t quite sure when he’d have his next little episode, when the ache from having Red’s power in his tiny little body would become unbearable again. It came and went without much warning, leaving him curled up in a ball and utterly exhausted.

Thace had told him the mess Keith made when he first woke up. How he writhed and screamed , breaking the glass of a cryopod  while everyone around him tried to calm him down. In all honesty, Keith didn’t really remember when he woke up. Not all of it anyway. He vaguely remembered seeing his uncle and Shiro, feeling Lance pressed up against his back, but most of all he remembered the fire that consumed him. He remembered the raw power of Red tearing him up from the inside because she couldn’t go back to where she belonged. Neither of them were safe yet and Keith didn’t know how much longer they’d be able to function like this.

In the back of his mind, Red tried her best to reassure him. He closed his eyes and reveled in the bond they shared, wondering if Lance felt the same thing with Blue. For a moment, he felt guilty about complaining about his pain, when she must be feeling worse. After all, he may be missing parts of himself and struggling to remember some things, but at least he was up and walking. Red, wherever her body was, was still empty.

The water washed away the sweat that stuck to his hair and fur, his still injured arm was wrapped in a plastic cover so as not to disturbed the freshly laid bandages Ulaz had helped him with last night. Once clean and comfortably cool, he turned off the water and stepped out, noticing a fresh pair of clothes laid out for him on the bathroom counter.

Keith used a smaller towel to rub some of the water out of his hair. It had gotten longer during his ordeal, growing past his shoulders and falling into his eyes. A little tug on his ear made him stop, dropping the towel on the counter. He pushed aside the tangles of his dark hair and found something impossible clipped onto his ear. With shaking fingers, Keith undid the clasp.

It was the earring. The same beautiful, purple gem that Lance had gifted him all that time ago. It took a moment for his mind work through this revelation, the memory of how the jewel had been destroyed slowly filling up his thoughts. Keith cradled the earring, realizing that Lance must have given him his when Keith slept. He promised himself that he wouldn’t let this one slip away. He was going to hold on to it forever.

Keith dried the rest of his hair, before clipping the earring back in place. Once outside the bathroom, he strode over to Lance confidently and kissed him before the prince could say a word. The young Galra gently held on to Lance’s chin, tipping his face up so that they met perfectly in the middle. When the two eventually pulled back, Lance looked star struck as a warm blush made the freckles on his cheeks darken.

“Wh-what was that for?” The prince sounded breathless.

Keith let his actions speak for him and brushed aside his hair to reveal the earring.

Lance’s eyes lit up at the sight, smiling all the while. “So you noticed. I thought it looked better on you. I can always get another so that we can match again.”

Keith leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

They walked to the kitchen close enough for their shoulders to touch.

Keith was in awe of the Castle of Lions, not believing Lance at first when he said that this was part of the same castle they lived in on Altea. The now sleek and cool design held little resemblance to the regal palace halls Keith once patrolled, but the more they walked, the more he was convinced by the air of grandeur alone.

Turning a corner, Keith’s ears stood up tall as he heard the distinct sound of someone humming. There was the clatter of fingers on a key board as well as the gentle clink of silverware bumping against glass. The quiet sounds agitated his headache and, for once, Keith wished his hearing wasn’t so sensitive.

Actually, now that he was thinking about it, his headache was fairly tame this time around. It was easily manageable, as well as the rest of his body. What usually felt like smoldering embers bubbling beneath his skin was nothing more than a small pulse, like a warm breeze brushing against his fur. This was different, he was feeling better. Why was he feeling better?

Keith should have been relieved, but he instantly felt on edge. He stopped just outside the kitchen door, Lance stopping mid conversation to turn and give him a worried look.

“Keith? Is everything alright?” Lance  stepped away from the door, resting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Is your headache back? Do you need to lie down?”

The young Galra looked at his prince with wide eyes, a strangely familiar feeling washing over him. “Lance—“

The lights in the hallway flickered until they went out completely as the whole ship shook. Lance yelped and nearly fell before Keith caught him. His instincts kicking in, Keith positioned himself in front of the prince to protect him from any oncoming threat. Once the shuddering stopped, the door to the kitchen flew open and three figures barreled out.

“What the hell was— Lance?” A tiny human with a mass of brown hair noticed them first. Knowing that she wasn’t a threat, Keith took a step back. “Are you two okay?”

“Yeah we’re fine.” Lance was still clutching Keith’s arm, his voice hiding the tiny shiver of fear that ran through his body. “You guys alright?”

“Fine.” Behind her was a large young human, almost taller than Shiro.

Keith perked up in surprise at the third person who rushed out of the room. “Shiro?”

His friend nodded, a fleeting smile on his face. “Keith,” Shiro took a few steps forward, clasping Keith’s shoulder. “Good to see you up and around.”

“And you.” Keith grinned, happy to once again see his friend in one piece. Well, almost one piece. Keith had noticed the fact that Shiro had an arm once again, but this one was made of Galra tech. “Your arm…”

Shiro glanced at the appendage, his eyes hard. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now we need to find out what’s going on. Any ideas?”

Both the prince and the Galra shook their heads. The big guy, Hunk, Keith guessed, was fiddling with a small device in his hands.

“Guys, I can’t reach Coran on the coms. It looks like the power to the whole ship is out.”

“Do you think it has to do with the repairs he was doing? Coran did say the ship was damaged during our fight against the Galra fleets,” Shiro asked.

“No, it can’t be that. Pidge and I helped him with that this morning. There was nothing wrong with the power generators, just some damage to castle defenses.” Pidge readily confirmed Hunk’s statement.

The knowing feeling in Keith’s stomach only got worse as the conversation moved on. His head was clearer than it had been in days and he almost felt normal even thought that wasn’t supposed to be a possibility right now. Part of his quintessence was still missing, held captive buy the stain of the Galra Empire, otherwise known as Prince Lotor. Nothing had changed in the past few days, so Keith shouldn’t have changed. However, the fact of the matter was that Keith was feeling infinitely better than he had days before, which caused his paranoia to spike tremendously.

Keith covered Lance’s hand with his own, the latter still holding onto Keith’s forearm. “Something’s not right…”

“ _Clearly_ ,” Pidge remarked, but her light hearted tone was marred by the stern look on her face. “We should get the control room and see if Coran and Allura are there—“

The entire ship rumbled again, throwing everyone off balance. Even Keith was caught off guard and nearly fell right on top of Lance. Shiro seemed to be the only one able to stay standing, reaching down to help Pidge up once the shaking had stopped.

“We need to suit up. Whatever is happening, I have a feeling it isn’t good.”

“Do you think it’s an attack?” Hunk asked quickly.

“I don’t know, but it’s best to be prepared. Let’s get ready and head to the control room.”

There was a series of confirmations that echoed Shiro’s professional tone as the three humans began to make their way down the hall. Keith went to follow but was stopped by a tug on his arm. He turned to Lance, frowning.

“Keith, you need to go back to the med bay.” The prince spoke firmly, not a hint of his joking, playful manner from earlier.

“W-what? Lance, I can’t—“

“You _have_ to.”

At the sound of his serious tone, Shiro turned to watch the two of them, concerned. Lance waved him away, not moving his gaze away from Keith for a moment. The young Galra watched as Shiro nodded at them, sparing a quick look to Keith as he turned back down the hall. In a manner of a few seconds, they were alone.

Keith took a deep breath. “Lance… you honestly think I’m going to sit and wait around while you all go rushing off in to danger?”

“First off, we don’t even know if we are in danger. It could just be a wayward asteroid or something.” By the look on his face, it was clear Lance didn’t think that was a high possibility. Despite his obvious worry, the prince continued. “Second, you’re still recovering. You probably don’t want to hear this, but you’re still weak from everything you’ve been through. I’m not going to let you go running off and have you collapsing with one of your headaches again.”

“That’s just it, Lance. I don’t have a headache, not a bad one at least. I feel… fine. Actually fine, not when I’m lying to make you or Thace feel better. My body… my head… its better than it has been since I woke up.”

Lance’s stern expression faded into something more akin to confusion. “I’m just going to ignore that lying bit. You feel normal? Like, not in pain or anything?  But, how is that even possible? I mean, it’s not like anything changed. Ulaz didn’t give you any medicine or something, did he?”

“No, nothing like that. I think… and is kind of a wild guess but, I think—“

Just then, a hauntingly familiar voice echoed off the smooth metal walls. It wasn’t loud enough for Lance to hear quite yet, but Keith did. His ears shot up, quivering as slow and steady footsteps grew louder and louder. The prince had gone quiet at the look on Keith’s face.

“Keith? What’s wrong?”

The young Galra slowly turned towards the end of the hall, the opposite way their comrades had just left. Keith knew whose voice was calling to them, he knew exactly who was striding down the castle halls with a confident power to their steps, but he didn’t want to believe it.

“It’s Lotor. He’s here.”

“What!?”

“Lance, _move_!” Keith didn’t waste another moment and pushed his prince away from the impending danger. Lance nearly tripped but quickly regained his footing and began sprinting down the hall.

Somehow, Lotor had found them and now he was strolling around the castle, most likely looking for Keith. Now, everything was making sense. The sudden power outage was Lotor’s doing. A distraction to sneak into the castle unnoticed. Then, there were the changes that overcame Keith in the manner of a few hours. He was feeling better because his missing quintessence was close again; close enough to chase away his discomfort. Keith mentally berated himself. He should have figured this out sooner.

Lotor’s voice cut out as soon as they started running, and now there was the pounding of the Galra prince’s footsteps following them. Keith didn’t want to risk looking back.  He kept his eyes forward and followed Lance as they went to find the others.

“Just a little further…” Lance panted as his pace began to slow.

Keith breathed a sigh of relief that was unfortunately short lived. Behind them, a loud twang rang out. Keith turned a second before a thick wire wrapped itself around his torso, pinning his arms to his side and pressing against his injured forearm. The sudden attack threw him off balance and he fell forward, slamming his body into the ground with a painful grunt.

“Keith!” Lance skidded to a stop and hurriedly scrambled back to help. Keith wriggled against his bonds, trying to get to his feet. The prince was mere inches away from reaching him, when the electric whir of a blaster echoed across the hall.

“No!”

The blazing blue shot crashed into Lance, where exactly Keith wasn’t too sure. His vision blurred moments before the shot hit, as if his mind was trying to protect him from seeing something so terrible.

 _This isn’t real,_ Keith’s thought as Lance fell, flung back by the force of the blast. The two of them were finally together and safe and… Lance just _kissed_ him yesterday, and Keith actually had the courage to kiss him today.  

Lance was lying on his stomach a good distance away from where Keith was beginning to hyperventilate on the floor. His limbs stretched out around him, with the exception of one arm folded under his torso in an uncomfortable position. Keith was sure he would never be able to get the image of Lance, lying motionless on the ground, out of his head. He stared at the sight, tears already dampening his cheeks as the reality of what had happened began to settle. After a moment of shocked silence, Keith yelled to Lance. He screamed his name over and over, kicking the ground and pushing himself across the floor with his arms still trapped against his side.

 _I have to get to him… I have to get to Lance!_ his mind shouted at him.

“And where do you think you’re going?” A heavy boot between Keith’s shoulders stalled his progress. Lotor’s grin was malicious as he kicked the young Galra onto his back. Keith growled, wanting to lunge at Lotor rip that grin right off his face. The Galra prince looked more smug than ever before.

“Hello again, traitor. Did you really think you could run away from me?”

Keith bit back any retort he might have had, his mind still on Lance.

“What, not going to talk? Fine, although I will miss our colorful banter.” With a strength every Galra had, Lotor easily lifted Keith to his feet, holding him in place with a firm hand on his throat. “Time to go, little Kivach. Or Keith, whichever would aggravate you the most. Lucky for me, I still have some druids on my side who are willing to do my bidding. Time to gather the rest of that power from your worthless hide.”

The lights in the hall suddenly flickered on and Lotor hissed in annoyance. “It appears I underestimated your engineer’s capabilities. Best leave before they spot us.”

Lotor turned and began dragging Keith along with him. The Galra prince did so easily, showing that he was much stronger than before. Keith thrashed in his iron clad grasp, digging his heels into the ground and struggling against the wire that bound his arms. He looked up and felt the tears well up in his eyes once again.

Lance hadn’t moved an inch, still crumpled on the ground where he fell. Keith felt something inside him break.

“Lance! Lance _please_ — get up!” There were only a handful of people he cared about in the universe. “Please get up… please _get up_ , Lance…” A small group of people that made his life better.  Among them, there was one person he feared to lose the most. “ _Lance!_ ”

Lance had been shot and he wasn’t getting up. 

* * *

 

To say things had gone from bad to worse would have been a gross understatement. In reality, things went from bad, past worse, all the way to end of the spectrum where there was no possible combination of words that could express how truly terrible everything was. The worst part of it all was that Lance had let Keith be captured by Lotor, again.

The young prince was slowly regaining conciseness, the heart wrenching sounds of Keith shouting his name pulling him out from the darkness. His body felt heavy, his head ringing from where it collided with the ground. Lance tried to move faster, but every part of his being screamed in protest. He had to take it easy.

Once he was fully awake, Lance opened his eyes. Keith’s voice was gone now, sending his pulse racing in a flood of panic. The prince pushed himself up to his knees, grasping his side as soon as he was sitting up right. His hand hovered over the blaster shot, which luckily had only grazed his side. There was a tear in his shirt where a gross burn-like wound streaked across his ribcage. It was bleeding slowly, but it definitely could have been worse.

The force of the shot was his undoing, sending him flying back where he hit his head on the ground. He blacked out after that, only to wake up moments later with Keith already gone.

“Quiznak.” Lance pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the momentary head rush he got. Lance moved as fast as he could. His first instinct was to find Keith, but logic quickly struck that idea down. Lotor was armed, so Lance needed to be armed too.

He nearly crashed into his bedroom door, forgoing his armor and grabbing his bayard. Lance felt capable once it was in his hands, his confidence building as he began to think of a strategy. Just before he left, Lance paused by the door, something on his bedside table catching his eye.

It was the red bayard, Keith’s bayard. Lance had intended on giving it to him today after they had some breakfast. The prince grabbed it and made his way back down the hall to find Lotor.

_“-ance? Lan-ce!?”_

The prince practically jumped as he ran, agitating the injury on his side. Lance dug around in his pocket and quickly pulled out his com.

“ _Lance, come in. Where are you? Are you still with Keith_?” Allura’s voice became clear on the com, most of the static fading away after her initial message.

“Allura, we’ve got a major problem here.”

“ _What’s wrong_?”

“It’s Lotor. He’s here and he took Keith. I’m going after them now.”

“ _No, wait for Shiro. I’m sending him to meet you_.”

“Can’t wait ‘lura. I’ve got to catch them before it’s too late. I’m not sure how long I was out—“

“ _Out? What do you mean out? Lance, are you injured?”_

Lance grimaced, realizing a bit too late that he shouldn’t have mentioned that last part. He didn’t slow down for a second as he ran past the hall where he and Keith had been separated.

“I’m fine, sis. I’ve got my bayard and I’m going after them.”

“ _Lance…”_ The princess sighed, mumbling a little to herself. “ _Fine. I hope you’re not opposed to some help at least?”_

Lance grinned. “Of course not.”

“ _Good. Coran has located where Keith and Lotor are. It looks like they’re heading towards the pod hanger. I’m sending Shiro and Hunk to help you_.”

“Got it. Thanks, Allura.”

“ _Be careful, little brother_.”

“I will.”

Lance pocketed his communicator and ignored the pulsing pain in his side. Lotor made a huge mistake coming for Keith, and now he was going to pay for everything he put them through. Lance was going to make sure of that. 

* * *

 

Lotor’s grip on Keith’s throat was nearly choking him. The Galra prince had quickly grown tired of Keith’s desperate cries and shut him up by slowly crushing his windpipe. Lotor was walking briskly, hindered by Keith’s continuous struggles. The young Galra tried to slow them down, but with each step the hold on his neck tightened, forcing him to concentrate more on the simple act of breathing instead of stalling the sadistic prince.

Keith was also distracted by Lance.

Lance, lying motionless on the floor after being shot by a blaster. Lance, who he had held in his arms not an hour ago. Lance… who very well could have died in that hallway. Alone.

Hot tears prickled the corner of his eyes again, traveling the familiar path down his cheeks. Keith slumped in Lotor’s hold, wheezing as his captor’s grip became even tighter.

“Useless…” Lotor muttered. 

They entered a large hanger that had lines of pods on either side. Tucked between two of the Altean crafts was a smaller, darkly colored speeder that was clearly Galra made. Keith got his second wind and began struggling against his bonds, against Lotor, once more. The wire around his torso only seemed to get tighter as he pushed against it, making his arms and chest ache.

“Don’t you know when to give up?” Lotor spat. He brought Keith forward so that the two were standing face to face. “You’ve lost, can’t you see? Give up already. If you cooperate, I might even give you a proper burial.”

Keith couldn’t respond, but he hoped the glare he gave Lotor was enough of an answer. The Galra prince scoffed and opened the door on the back of his ship.

“Looks like you are going to continue being difficult. And here I thought if I removed your precious little prince, I’d have an easier time. Guess I was wrong.”

Lotor’s flippant comment made Keith’s knees buckle with despair. All he wanted was to be with Lance, to hold the prince once again, and now that no longer was an option. His peaceful future was gone.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible shot?”

Keith’s heart leaped into his throat at the sound of that familiar voice. Lotor seemed just as surprised and actually released his hold on Keith’s neck. The young Galra stumbled and turned to see his prince, standing in the doorway with his weapon raised. His eyes quickly scanned Lance, noting the red patch on his side and small trickle of blood on his head that had turned a few strands of his white hair pink. But he was here and he was alive. _Lance was alive_.

“Lance.” Saying his name, Keith couldn’t help but smile.

Lance’s bright blue eyes shifted over to Keith. “Hey, Keith, sorry if I scared you earlier. Lucky for us, Prince Asshole couldn’t hit a comet if it flew past his ship.”

Lotor growled, reaching for the small blaster on his side. Lance moved with incredible speed and fired, his shot knocking the blaster right out of Lotor’s hand. The Galra prince looked both shocked and furious at the turn of events, but Keith couldn’t be happier. He took a few steps forward, ready to run to Lance’s side.

A harsh pull on his hair sent him stumbling back as Lotor pressed the edge of a thin sword to his throat. Lance’s eyes went wide as he moved to come to Keith’s aid.

“Don’t even think about, your _highness_.” Lotor’s mocking tone was back in full force, now that he was on top of the situation again.

Lance froze, his weapon still raised and posture tense. “You’re not going to kill him. You still need him.”

“See, while that is true, I’m starting to wonder if all of this is really worth it.” Both Lance and Keith gulped, wondering what exactly Lotor was getting at. The Galra prince sounded annoyed when he spoke again. “Weighing my options, it seems much more appealing to just kill him. After all, I already have some of the Red Quintessence’s power, enough to make me superior to my father. The Red Lion would be lost, but really, isn’t that a good thing? Then Voltron would no longer be a threat to my rein. With all that in mind, _Prince Lance_ , you might want to rethink that strategy.”

Lance had paled significantly, his grip on his blaster shaky. Keith wanted to scream at Lotor, call him a liar and punch him in the face, but the blade that threatened his life was cold on his skin, just one flick of the wrist away from ending his story then and there. Keith didn’t truly think that Lotor would make good on his threat to kill him, but it wasn’t worth the risk in Lance’s eyes. The Altean prince slowly began lowering his weapon.

 _No!_ Keith grit his teeth, staring at Lance and trying to convey his thoughts to the prince. _Don’t listen to him… don’t give up!_

Keith subtly widened his stance, his gaze flashing down to see where Lotor’s foot was. The young Galra looked back and forth between Lance and down at the ground, willing him to read his thoughts. The blaster Lance held was nearly pointed at the ground when suddenly it stopped. The prince met Keith’s eye, worry overwhelming the sparkling blue color. Keith relaxed his features, trying to reassure Lance that everything would be alright. With a slight nod, Keith put his plan into action.

The young Galra brought his foot up and slammed his heel down on the top of Lotor’s boot. The wicked prince howled, the shock from the unexpected attack causing him to let go of Keith’s hair. Keith took full advantage of this mistake and dropped to the ground away from Lotor’s sword. Lance took his shot, the blaster hitting Lotor on his shoulder. The Galra prince roared in pain, using his free hand to stanch the bleeding.

Lotor growled and focused his attention on Keith, the one closest to him. He raised his sword high and brought it down swiftly where Keith lay on the ground. Anticipating this, Keith waited until the last second to roll out of the way. The sharp blade trailed across his upper arm, slicing both his flesh and the wire that bound him. Keith felt the bind loosen and pushed himself towards Lance while he worked off the rest of the wire.

Lance opened fire, covering Keith as he made his escape. Lotor cursed, doing everything he could to dodge the rapid attack.

Keith finally managed to get to Lance’s side only to see that the fighting had stopped. The young Galra turned to where Lotor used to be and saw nothing but an empty space. He must have taken cover behind one of the pods.

“Here.” Lance kept his weapon up with one hand, and in the other was a strange red and white device.

“What’s this?” Keith asked, taking the random object and inspecting it.

“A paladin’s bayard. It takes a different form depending on the person.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, there was a flash of light and the bayard transformed into a double-edged sword. Keith marveled at the beauty of it, how it gleamed in the light and how comfortable it felt in his hand. Finally, he was armed and ready to fight.

“Hunk and Shiro are on their way,” Lance continued, his eyes still glued to where he assumed Lotor was hiding. “We just got to hold out till they get here—”

A figure leaped down from a pod next to them, a good distance away from where Lotor had originally been. Lance yelped and fumbled bringing his blaster around to take a shot. Keith charged forward and met Lotor’s attack with a resounding clash of metal on metal as their swords collided.

Lotor smirked and threw his full weight onto the blade. Keith grunted as he was shoved back, his arms straining under the pressure. With a burst of strength, Keith managed to push Lotor back, only to receive a swift kick to the stomach. He sputtered, stepping away and gasping as the air left his lungs too quick.

Before he could advance again, Lance cut him off, firing from a good distance away. Lotor grimaced, dodging the blazing blue shots and swiping some away with his sword when he could.

Keith quickly recovered and began attacking Lotor with everything he had. This was the person who tormented him for months. The one who threatened Lance over and over again. The thing that caused all his pain and was looking to create more. Keith wasn’t going to hold back against this enemy, he wasn’t going to give Lotor a chance. 

* * *

 

Lance was in awe with the way Keith moved. Quick and agile, he matched Lotor’s attacks blow for blow. He laughed at himself briefly, thinking of their conversation in the hall not too long ago. Here he thought Keith would be weak and unable to fight, but he was clearly proven wrong.

Since the two were moving so fast, Lance had little more to do then just watch as they clashed. Unlike the fight with Shiro and Haggar, there wasn’t a moment where Lance felt comfortable taking a shot. The best he could do was stick to the sidelines, wait for backup, and help if things got out of hand. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, things got out of hand.

Lotor’s gaze flashed to Lance for a mere moment before ducking under a swipe of Keith’s bayard. The Galra prince’s hand disappeared for a moment into a fold on his uniform. In a flash, he whipped out a throwing knife and flung it straight at Lance.

The young prince panicked for a moment before taking aim and shooting the blade off course. It clattered to the ground at the same moment Keith did. The quick attack against the Altean prince was enough to distract Keith while he glanced at Lance to make sure he was okay. Lotor took full advantage of his dirty move and brought another small blade out and lashed out, embedding it in Keith’s left bicep.

Keith yelled, slamming into the ground and rolling out of the way moments before a thin blade came crashing down on the floor. Lance did his job and kept Lotor away while Keith recovered. He jumped to his feet and pulled the knife out of his arm, letting it clatter to the ground.

The young Galra was back on Lotor, coming in low and bringing his blade up to attack. He managed to drag the tip of his bayard across Lotor’s chest, making the Galra prince scream in rage.

Lance kept his distance, knowing that if he got to close, Lotor would use him as a distraction again. The young prince glanced at the hanger door, wondering if it would be better for him to wait out in the hall. Lotor had used Keith and Lance’s connection against them before, harming one to torment the other. If anything, Lance’s presence in this fight could be a liability. At the same time, Lance couldn’t fathom leaving Keith now.

The decision to stay or leave ended up not mattering to Lance, as the hanger doors suddenly closed behind him. The young prince turned, distracted by the clang. He hurried over to the control panel and tried unsuccessfully to open it. The controls weren’t responding to him. A dark spot on the side of the panel caught his eye. It was a machine of some sort, a bug that had dug wires into the controls and locked the door. The young prince swore. Lotor must have thrown it when he threw the knife.

Lance dug his com out of his pocket and contacted Shiro.

“Shiro? Hey, Shiro, you there?”

There was nothing but static for a few moments before a voice responded. “ _I’m here. What’s going on?_ ”

“Lotor did something to the doors and they closed. I can’t get them open.”

“ _What?_ ” Alarm crept into his voice.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe you guys can open them from the other side?”

“ _Alright, we’ll try. Hunk might be able to figure something out. We’re almost to your position._ ” After a moment of static, Shiro continued, “ _did you get to Keith?_ ”

“Yeah, he’s fine, but he’s fighting Lotor. I’m not much help right now— _quiznak_!” Lance yelped in surprise as knife flew by his face and embedded itself into the wall.

“ _Lance!_ ” Shiro yelled into the com, full-blow panic in his voice.

“I-I’m fine! Just, get here fast!” Lance put away his com and turned to the battle.

Lotor was grinning smugly, his arm still raised from when he threw the knife. Behind him, Keith was on the ground. “So glad to have attention again, _your highness_.”

Lance didn’t bother replying to the taunt and went on the offensive. He charged Lotor, shooting as fast as his weapon would allow. Lotor looked surprised for a moment before he moved, dodging Lance’s attack.

The young prince ran in a circle, trying to keep a Lotor at a good distance while he went over to Keith. The young Galra was already making an attempt to stand, his features set in a grimace and snarl on his lips. He was cradling his right arm.

Keith was standing by the time Lance made it to his side. “You okay?” he asked quickly.

“Fine,” Keith grit out. The bandage on his right arm was bloody, his injuries from breaking the cryopod’s glass reopening after all this madness. With the damage Lotor had inflicted to his opposite bicep moments ago, Keith was now fighting with two injured arms. He tossed his bayard back and forth in his hands, trying to figure out which hurt less, and then threw himself into the fray.

Lance could feel the weapon in his hands overheat, but he didn’t want to stop shooting. Lotor was glaring at him with a murderous gaze as Lance’s barrage kept him at bay. Finally, his bayard needed a break and stopped firing all together. Lance cursed, realizing just how hot the surface of the metal was. Lucky for him, Keith was back trading blows with the Galra prince once again.

Lotor fought back viciously, undisturbed by the wound on his shoulder and chest, and unaffected by fatigue. His yellow eyes darted back to Lance more than once as the Altean prince waited for his weapon to cool. When it finally did, Lance moved closer to fire off shots whenever he could.

Keith looked grateful for the assistance, dodging attacks from Lotor instead of blocking so that Lance might get a shot in. However, despite all their efforts, Lotor wasn’t budging. The Galra prince was standing tall and fighting fluidly. In a dirty move, Lotor reached out with his free hand when Keith was close and went for the knife wound in his left bicep. One of Lotor’s fingers managed to find the incision and he pulled, tearing a pained scream from Keith.

At that moment, Lance lost all sense of self preservation. He charged Lotor in a blind fury, throwing his bayard aside and tackling the bastard to the ground.

The smug smile on Lotor’s face vanished in instant as the two princes crashed into the ground. Lotor’s sword flew out on his hand and skidded across the floor. Without a second thought, Lance punched Lotor.

The Galra prince sputtered, blood already trickling from his nose. He looked up at Lance in complete and utter shock as the Altean prince pulled back and punched him again. Over and over again until Lance’s hand ached, but he couldn’t stop. Not until he felt satisfied. Lotor’s pale purple cheek had grown dark, nearly black in color as the bruise became worse. Lance was sure that the bastard bit his tongue or something as blood began to trail out of the corner of his mouth as well.

Lance was about to switch hands when, a sharp, burning pain buried itself in his stomach. Lance froze; his fist half raise as Lotor’s lips curled into a bloody grin. It seemed that Lotor had one more of those small knives and he just used it.

Lance didn’t dare look down, he could already feel the damage and didn’t want to see his stomach covered in blood. He pushed himself off of Lotor, his shaky legs not taking him far. Lance fell back to the ground, lying on his side and curling in on himself, whimpering in agony. His hands flitted over the blade’s handle, each little touch sending a stinging pain through his entire body.

Lotor was on his hands and knees, breathing hard and spitting out blood. “Nice try, little prince, but as usual, you failed.”

Lance felt a flare of anger course through him, but he was down for the count. If he tried anything now, he would only make his situation worse.  “Th-that was dirty and you _know_ it.” Lance bit back, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Revolutions don’t have rules, you naïve child.”

“L-Lance?” Keith’s voice had never sounded smaller than in that moment. Lance looked up to where the young Galra stood, his hand trying to stop the bleeding on his arm as his face flickered from fear to pain every few seconds. His eyes went wide as he took in the blood that was beginning to pool under the prince.

Lance knew it wasn’t a smart move, but seeing the pure devastation on Keith’s face pulled at his heartstrings. He wanted to run to his companion and chase away the hurt that clouded those beautiful amber eyes. The young prince foolishly tried to push himself up, tried to hurry to Keith’s side, only to cry out in pain as the movement jostled the blade embedded in his stomach. Lance fell back down, his cheek pressed against the cool floor while he rode out the flashes of hurt.

In the next moment, Keith’s eyes hardened and he turned to Lotor, who was finally on his feet. Anger was rolling off of his frame in waves of heat that Lance could actually feel. Call it a delusion of his sluggish mind, but Lance could have sworn that Keith’s eyes were glowing red as he stood tall, all of the fatigue he was feeling moments ago gone. Lotor stepped back, his eyes flitting to his sword a little ways behind him. There was a little glimmer to his eyes as well and Lance was astounded to see that it was fear. Keith gripped his bayard and took off, sprinting towards Lotor, lost in overwhelming fury. The Galra prince dove for his weapon and scrambled to block.

Lance was stunned by the ferocity of the new fight and by the change in both Keith and Lotor. Where Keith had become an devastating wildfire, Lotor had shrunk back to a withering weed.

The clang of the hanger doors opening managed to drag Lance’s attention away and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Hunk and Shiro. His breath caught inside his throat as another sting of pain shot through him. Lance clutched his stomach, fighting the urge to rip out the blade all together. At the moment, he couldn’t remember if it was better to leave it in or take it out. The image of a wine bottle filtered into his head and the young prince decided to leave the cork in so that the wine wouldn’t come spilling out.

Hunk and Shiro saw Keith and Lotor first before they noticed Lance on the ground. Hunk noticed the prince first, running over at an impressive speed to help his friend.

“Lance! Lance, are you— th-that’s a lot of blood…” His eyes grew shiny and wide while his hands shook.

“I… I’m alright, buddy. It’s n-not that deep.” Lance put on a brave smile, trying his hardest not to cry. “Co-could use a little help though. I didn’t know if I should t-take it out or not.”

Shiro had come up beside Hunk, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder to steady him. “It’s a good thing you waited. We need to find something to stop the bleeding.”

“Here! You can use my headband.” Hunk untied the orange cloth from his forehead, unfolding it and revealing that it was actually bigger then Lance originally thought.

“Good idea.” A loud clang made the two humans turn, and Lance pushed himself up to see what was happening. Keith and Lotor were still locked in battle, the latter looking worse for wear. Keith was driving the Galra prince to his limits, and it was clear who was winning and who was losing. Neither of them seemed to noticed the arrival of the two humans.

Shiro turned back to the young prince, “alright, Lance, I need you to lie back while we do this.”

The young prince nodded, following Shiro’s instructions. Lance kept his groans to a minimum as the change in position shifted the knife in his stomach. Shiro gripped the handle with his metal hand using to the other to hold Lance down by his shoulder. Hunk had shifted to the opposite side, ready to cover the wound the moment the blade was gone. Shiro began counting down, Hunk murmuring encouragements the whole way. As soon as they reached one, Shiro pulled.

The knife left Lance’s flesh with a gross gurgle as the blood began to flow. Lance was yelling and jerking wildly, but Shiro and Hunk managed to hold him steady and helped him come down from the jolt of pain. They stayed like that for a few moments longer.

“We need to get him to the med room, to Coran. He needs help,” Hunk spoke urgently, keeping a firm pressure on the hole in Lance’s stomach.

“Right. Hunk, can you carry him?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, no problem. Lance? You’re gonna have to put pressure on that wound, can you do it?”

Lance huffed, “of course I can. But wh-what about Keith?”

Shiro glanced over his shoulder to a place Lance couldn’t quiet see from his spot on the ground. “He’ll be fine. We have to worry about you first.”

Lance wanted to stay, to make sure that Keith was okay, but the tone of Shiro’s voice changed his mind. If he said that Keith could handle this, then Lance believed him.

The two humans carefully situated Lance into Hunk’s arms, the prince concentrating solely on keeping the headband pressed against his wound and his cries of discomfort to a minimum. They worked carefully, trying to ease Lance’s pain as much as possible. Once they were done, Hunk stood and hurried to the door to get Lance to safety.

Lance leaned back and tried to look over Hunk’s wide shoulder to see what was happening. All he could hear was the crash of metal on metal and the occasional grunt from one of the combatants. Lance sat up straighter, wincing at the movement. In the next moment, Keith came into view looking wild and strong. His eyes darted over to the group now leaving the hanger, flickering from bright red back to their normal amber as he focused on Lance. The young prince put on a small smile, trying his best to reassure Keith, to tell him that he would be okay.

They were out the doors soon after that, Hunk trying his best not to jostle Lance as Shiro ran ahead of them, talking rapidly on the com. 

* * *

 

Lance had been found by the others and rushed off to get help. The prince was going to be fine, but the flames of Keith’s rage were far from quieting down. His mind just wouldn’t stop thinking about the change that had overcome the beautiful prince. His jaw clenched as he tried not to vocalize his pain, body hunched and small whist being racked with tremors, and worst of all, the dark crimson pool that grew beneath him. Keith never thought he’d hate the color red so much.

Now however, a different, vibrant red was chasing away his fatigue and guiding his sword. The Red Lion’s fury matched his own. Her bond with Keith so strong that his anger became hers. Fueled by her paladin’s fury, Red lent him her power.

Keith fought like never before, his muscles burning with each movement, but not like before. The burn wasn’t causing him pain, instead it energized his body and chased away his exhaustion. Lotor looked positively stunned at the turn of events. The wicked prince was left with no time to attack and was merely trying to block the ruthless onslaught.

Waves of Red’s power were coming off him, actually visible when the two swords clashed. The tendrils of crimson light were growing in their intensity with each strike.

“No! Y-you can’t— this power is _mine_!” Lotor was bordering on frantic as one of the stems of light actually wrapped around his arm.

Keith begin to wonder what was happening with the light. His mind was too caught up with causing Lotor pain for what he did to Lance.

 _Keep fighting, little one! I will strip him of his stolen power._ Red roared in his ear, the fire that had been hurting him for days, now feeling incredible running through his veins.

The Red Lion’s quintessence was resonating with the piece of them that was inside Lotor. It reached out to it, grasping the Galra prince with its tendrils of light and trying to remove what was theirs from him. Keith did his best to get close, locking blades with Lotor over and over again and trying to swipe at him with his claws.

A bright stem of red light curled around Lotor’s arm and held on tight. Lotor tried to pull loose, but its hold was firm.

“You— stupid— _half-breed_!” Lotor screeched as he angled his sword for Keith’s chest.

The young Galra moved with ease, side swiping with his bayard and plunging it straight into Lotor’s gut.

The Galra prince gasped, blood splashing across his teeth as his sword clattered to the ground. A shaking hand grasped Keith’s wrist, trying and failing to yank it away and get rid of the blade in his stomach.

Keith felt complete satisfaction in seeing  pain on the sadistic prince’s face. Coupled with the wicked bruise on his face from Lance, finally, _finally_ , Keith felt like this ordeal was over.

“Y-you surprised me, K-Keith.” Lotor’s silver tongue was making a last ditch effort to cause some wounds. “To th-think… a paladin of V-Voltron… taking a life so _easily_. T-tell me, do you think your killing streak will end h-here? We Galra are known to be a v-violent race…”

“Shut _up_ , already,” Keith snapped. “I don’t see this as a death. I’m giving life to thousands of species you would have destroyed, had you lived. If that doesn’t make me worthy of being a paladin, then so be it. I know where I belong and what I need to protect.”

Lotor let out a breath laugh, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. “It s-seems the cub has become a lion… too bad the others won’t get to see it.”

Keith felt as though he was pushed away from Lotor, Red’s roar echoing in his ear. His bayard slipped cleaning out of Lotor’s stomach and the Galra prince fell to his knees. In his hand was a small round device with a blinking green light. It was a bomb.

The young Galra looked around frantically, not really sure what he was looking for. Behind him, near the line of ships, was a control tower. On it, there was a big button that Keith recognized from his short time on Altea. He sprinted towards the tower, Lotor’s cackling pushing him to move faster. Once he was close enough, Keith leaped and stretched his arm out. His hand landed on the button and then the airlock doors burst open.

Keith held on to the control tower with all his strength as the crushing vacuum of space began to pull on everything it could. The Altean pod ships were secure in their positions, but the ship that Lotor came in went crashing against the others as it was dragged towards open space. The prince was no different. Lotor was clawing at the ground with what little strength he had left. The bomb he once held dropped to the ground as he desperately tried to grab on to something. Far outside the hanger, Keith saw the bomb go off, exploding brilliantly against the darkness. If he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he had, that bomb would have destroyed the entire hanger.

It took mere seconds for Lotor to be swept out into space, his demise sealed. Keith pulled himself up a tiny bit, just far enough for his fingers to reach the airlock button. Once the doors were closed, he fell with a heavy thud back to the floor. Keith pushed himself onto his back, his chest slowing rising and falling as he came down from his battle high.

“Its… over…” Keith closed his eyes and sighed with relief. The comforting silence was quickly broken.

“Keith!” Thace came barreling around the corner of the hanger door, making Keith sit up in surprise.

“Thace? Oof!” The older Galra crashed into his young nephew, wrapping him up in a very enthusiastic hug. He lifted Keith off the ground, embracing him so tightly that his feet didn’t even touch the floor. Although surprised at first, Keith hugged his uncle back with just as much eagerness. Behind them, Keith could see Ulaz standing in the doorway, something akin to a smile on his face.

Thace set him down suddenly, pulling back and taking stock of his wounds. “Are you alright? We heard from Prince Lance that Lotor had taken you, but we were stuck in the teludav. Coran needed some help and the doors shut when the power went off. Keith… where’s Lotor?”

“Gone,” Keith said firmly, “and he won’t bother us anymore.”

“I’m proud of you, nephew. And I’m so glad to see your wounds aren’t severe.”

Keith was about to respond when a chilling image creeped back into his mind. His wounds weren’t severe, but Lance’s were. His ears quivered as fear clutched his heart. Keith quickly tore himself from his uncle’s grasp and took off running.

“Keith? What’s wrong?!” Thace called after him.

The young Galra didn’t have time to explain, so he just shouted one word that he hoped would get his point across.

_Lance._

The smell of Lance coupled with the metallic twinge of blood led the three Galra to the medical wing. The doors were open and the rest of the inhabitants of the castle were inside, surrounding the very same bed that Keith previously had occupied.

Keith stalled, his body shaking with fear as he came closer. Before he could make it to the bed, Allura cut him off. Her gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump. The princess’s eyes were wet with tears, but besides that, there was a calm smile on her face.

“Don’t worry, Keith. Lance in going to be just fine.”

Her words released a flood gate of emotions that Keith didn’t know how to handle. He looked down at the beautiful princess, noticing immediately the traits she shared with her dear brother. The same tan skins, the same billowing white hair, the little crinkles around her eyes were the same as when Lance smiled. Keith grasped onto her hand, feeling the flood of emotions trickle out of eyes and staining his cheek.

“Really?” he asked hesitantly.

She nodded. “See for yourself.”

Allura led him to Lance’s bedside, the prince sitting propped up on a mountain of pillows. His shirt had been removed, revealing his bare chest, with and the white bandages wrapped around his middle and a bandage on his ribcage where the blaster grazed him. Hunk was right by his side with one hand on his shoulder and a smile on his face. Pidge was on his other side looking a little more frazzled and much younger than Keith realized. Her glasses were pushed up, holding back her bangs as she occasionally rubbed her eyes.

Shiro and Coran made up the rest of the group, with the latter watching the prince with a fatherly sort of look in his eye. Shiro, on the other hand, was looking at all three of the younger members of their group with a similar sort of warmth.

Everyone turned when Allura lead him closer, a collective sigh of relief emanating from all of them, but the biggest coming from Lance.

“Keith! You’re okay!” the prince exclaimed, wiggling against his pillows. His smile was brilliant despite the obvious fatigue he was feeling.

The young Galra shook his head, grinning. “Of course I’m okay. I was more worried about you.”

“No need to worry, Galra boy. Altean healing techniques are top notch.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re getting out of spending some time in a pod, Lance.” Allura admonished her younger brother with an unwavering gaze that even made Shiro shudder. Lance slouched in his seat.

“Yeah, yeah, I know sis, geez.” Suddenly, Lance sat up, wincing a bit as he did so. “Wait a tick, what about Lotor? What happened to him?”

All eyes turned to Keith, waiting for an explanation. The young Galra stood tall. “Lotor is no longer a threat.”

The words settled on the group slowly, everyone glancing at one another to gage their reactions. However, Lance’s bright eyes never left Keith as waves of relief visible washed over him.

“So… it’s finally over? We won?” he asked quietly.

Keith nodded.

“It’s about damn time. I was really getting sick of that guy.”

The prince’s words caused everyone to break out of their stupor, letting them finally relax after months of tension. Allura, Coran, and Lance especially felt as though a serving of long awaited justice had finally been passed. Keith didn’t go into detail about what happened, no one eager to ask for it either. Instead they all sat around Lance’s bed; three Galra, three Alteans and, two humans, eating and chatting comfortably about the relief they all felt.

Keith sat closest to Lance, his own tired body and aching wounds forgotten as he watched his prince, feeling happy for the first time in a long time.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quotes from annalyia that made me actually laugh out loud:
> 
> (oh noooooo)  
> (please stop saying things like this it just keeps confirming that Lotor is here)  
> (wtf my dude)  
> (f u lotor)  
> (I’m not crying you’re crying)  
> (MY BOY)  
> (aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh)  
> (Lotor is that dumb trope where the person has to keep taking weapons out of the most ridiculous places when they’re told to remove their weapons)
> 
> There's more, but these had me cackling like a saturday morning cartoon villain.
> 
> So many twists and turns, and honestly i hope no one stopped reading like, half way through the middle cuz that was kinda a mess. But i kind of love it and had so much fun writing it (´∀`)  
> Just letting you know, the next chapter is going to be pure fluff! These babes deserve it!  
> Thank you so much for reading. One more chapter to go!!!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I play with tenses' like its a jump rope. Thank [annalyia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia) for fixing that.

Keith was able to spend about fifteen minutes sitting comfortably next to Lance and the others before Pidge pointed out that he was bleeding onto the floor. His injuries weren’t all that severe, but the young Galra ended up standing in one of those strange pods again thanks to Lance and Thace’s unrelenting nagging. Keith felt a little uncomfortable stepping into the cramped space, but next to him, Shiro and Hunk were helping Lance into a pod of his own. The prince caught his eye, throwing him a dazzling smile that eased Keith’s worries.

The cool blue glass slide into place and Keith’s eyes grew heavy. A chill wrapped itself around his body and soon Keith was asleep.

The next time he opened his eyes, there was a crowd of people staring at him. Keith blinked several times, trying to see if he was still dreaming. The glass of the pod slowly descended as the cold left his body. His legs wobbled a bit but he was instantly steadied by Thace.

“Easy now, little one. Take your time.” He guided Keith out of the pod with a steady hand on his arm. Keith glanced down and realized that his wounded arm was completely healed. “How are you feeling?”

Keith thought about that for a moment. “A little tired, I guess, and hungry?”

Next to him, Allura chuckled. “That sounds about right. Why don’t you come sit down for a moment? There are a few tests I’d like to run.”

Keith nodded and let himself be led to a nearby chair. There was a whole collection of chairs and even a small table that had been brought into the pod room. Keith looked around and noticed that everyone was here, even Ulaz, although the other Galra was standing off to the side and watching everything from a distance. The only person he didn’t see was Lance.

Before he could ask, Pidge filled in the blanks. “Prince-not-so-charming is still healing. He should be out pretty soon though, right?”

“Right, indeed,” Coran chimed in. He twisted his mustache and practically hopped over to the control panel. “Prince Lance just needs a few more dobashes ‘til he’s all healed up. Good thing too, it’s been rather quiet without him.”

Pidge snorted. “You say that like it’s a bad thing?”

Hunk politely thumped his little friend on the head and quietly scolded her.

Keith sat, gratefully accepting a water pack from Thace as he did. The chair he chose had a direct line of sight to the pod Lance was in. The prince looked otherworldly in the blue glow, the color accentuating the Altean marks on his cheeks. His white hair looked almost teal in the light and Keith couldn’t help but think it was a good look on him. He felt his cheeks flushed and hoped it wasn’t as noticeable as Lance said it was.

Allura tied up her cloud-like hair and then kneeled down in front of Keith. The young Galra was a little taken aback by her actions, especially considering she once tried to kill him, but he waited to see what the princess wanted.

“Now Keith, do you still feel the Red Lion’s quintessence?”

Keith blinked, realizing for the first time that he in fact did not. “No… I mean, I still feel her bond but, I feel, well, I _don’t_ feel like I’m on fire.”

She nodded. “Okay, I’m going to just double check, if that’s okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Allura gently placed one hand on his forehead and another on the center of his chest. Keith stiffened at the sudden contact and felt one of his ears twitch. The princess closed her eyes, concentrating on what, Keith wasn’t sure. Her touch felt warm, more so than it probably should. Keith’s eyes flicked down and he noticed a subtle white glow emanating from her hands.

After a few more moments of silence, Allura pulled back and smiled. “Well, it’s seems that everything has gone back to normal. The quintessence in your body is your own, and the other half has returned to the Red Lion.”

“Really? But… how did that happen? How did the piece that Lotor stole make its way back?” Keith asked.

“Why don’t you tell us? I’m sure something happened during your battle with Lotor.”

The young Galra frowned, trying to think about anything strange happening. He was so caught up in the fight, the rage he felt towards Lotor that the whole thing kind of felt like a blur. Keith concentrated; remembering how it felt when he charged the Galra prince, the power he felt that helped him overcome his pain. He remembered Red.

“It was her…” he said quietly.

“Her who?” Thace asked.

“The Red Lion, I remember her.” Keith tried to think of the right words to explain what happened. “When Lance got hurt, I got really angry, and so did Red. I remember feeling her, the same feeling that I’ve been having these past few days only this time it didn’t hurt. It was more like it was helping me fight against Lotor. I started to… to see it. A crimson light. It was moving, reaching for Lotor and it actually managed to grab him. Without it, I don’t know if I would have been able to beat him.”

Allura sat back on her heels, a finger on her lips and brow furrowed in deep thought. After a few quiet moments, she stood. “My guess would be that the Red Lion was able to extend its quintessence, giving it a physical form. It used this form to latch on to Lotor and drain him of what he took.”

Keith took her words as fact. After all, he really had no idea what happened. In the back of his head, there was a soft sound, almost like a purr. A small smile crept over his face. Red sounded content.

The grumbling of his stomach caught everyone by surprise, and Keith felt utterly embarrassed. Hunk practically lifted him from his seat, instantly going on and on about his experiments with the food goo. Keith went with him, but still had the urge to stay. Part of him wanted to be there when Lance came out of the pod, but Hunk was so enthusiastic about his creations that Keith didn’t want to let him down.

After changing in to clean clothes, the two ended up in the kitchen with Pidge trailing along behind them shortly after. A few seconds into the conversation and Keith could tell that the two were very good friends. Surprisingly, they didn’t seem at all distracted or creeped out by his different appearance. He worried for a moment that his purple fur and yellow eyes might be a bit disconcerting to the humans, but they seemed completely at ease. The only weird moments were when he would catch Pidge staring at his ears every once and a while with a wide-eyed look.

Hunk slid a bowl filled with goo in front of Keith, but this was a different color. He sniffed it cautiously and glanced up at Hunk for an explanation. 

“That’s chicken fried rice,” Hunk said proudly. “Well, it’s not actually fried rice, it just tastes like it. It’s kind of hard to find foods from back home that will actually taste good as goo. I tried making a burger last week and ugh… I do not want to go through that again.”

“It was like you put a cheeseburger in a blender.” Pidge shivered at the memory, apparently traumatized by it as well.

The former solider had no idea what any of those foods were, but decided to try Hunk’s creation all the same. He took a small spoonful and ate it slowly. The taste was vastly different from the goo he had the other day and it was delicious. His eye grew to the size of saucers as the flavors collided on his tongue in the best taste imaginable. After that initial bite, Keith’s composure went out the window and he began shoveling down the delicious goo.

“I think he likes it.” Pidge giggled. Hunk was beaming with pride as he made another helping.

In the middle of his third bowl, a familiar sound rang in his ears. Before he had a chance to react, a person launched themselves off the ground and collided with Keith, sending the two of them tumbling off the chair and to the ground.  They landed with a thud, one of Keith’s legs ended catching on the arm of the chair and came crashing down on top of them.

“…ow.” Lance’s face was buried in Keith’s chest as he mumbled out the word.

Next to them, Pidge was shaking her head. “Shouldn’t you be taking it easy and not, y’know, tackling people?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“And how about now?”

“…not so good.”

Keith couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed. He laughed at the ridiculous prince in his arms who just tackled him to the ground because he was excited. Lance bounced up and down on his chest as Keith laughed which just made the situation all the more funny. Soon enough, Lance had joined him too, shoving the chair that had fallen on them off and rolling to the side to lie next to him.

“You two are ridiculous.” Pidge tried to look indifferent, but even she was affected by the silliness.

“I think it’s kind of cute,” Hunk chimed in.

“You would.”

Their laughter faded to a few breathy chuckles. Keith was clutching his stomach at this point, trying to remember if there was ever a time he felt this happy. When he finally calmed down, he turned to see his prince watching him with fond look in his eyes.

“Hi, there.”

“Hi.” Keith felt like he was blushing again. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yep. Good as new, though I do have a little scar now.” Lance lifted the bottom of his shirt and pointed to a spot just above his belly button. Keith felt a little hitch in his breath as the sight of his prince bleeding on the floor came to mind. It was still such a potent image in his mind that Keith felt a little sick.

Without thinking, Keith reached out and traced the scar with his thumb, laying his palm on Lance’s bare abdomen and thanking every deity in existence for this moment. He closed his eyes and moved closer to Lance.

The prince put his hand over Keith’s and squeezed. “I’m alright, you know. All better.”

“I know, it’s just, I was… scared.”

“So was I, but things worked out in the end. You can’t get rid of me that easy, Galra boy.”

Keith’s ears drooped. “Why do you call me that?”

“Well, it occurred to me the other day that I have a surprising lack of nicknames for you. Like, I have one for Hunk, Pidge, Coran, ‘lura, even Ulaz! Although I’m not too sure he likes his.”

“But ‘Galra boy’? It just seems a little… simple.”

“Oh is that a challenge? Because it sounds like a challenge to me—“

“Lance.”

“— you’re going to have the best nickname this side of the galaxy.”

“I already have a nickname. It’s ‘Keith’, remember?”

Lance waved away his comment. “Oh please, in my head Keith is your real name. Not Ki… Ki… what was it?”

“Kivach.”

“Yeah that. Still doesn’t suit you.”

Keith knew he was blushing now. “I’m going to go back to eating.” Keith abruptly stood; ignoring Lance’s rambling and grabbed his remaining food. He sat on Pidge’s opposite side and began devouring the rest of Hunks delicious creation. After a few more minutes of rambling, Lance stood and got his own helping of food. The four of them sat together happily, chatting as if they’d known each other for years.

For the first time in a long time, Keith let himself relax. The constant tension in his body that had been honed from being a solider faded away much more easily than he expected. For once, he didn’t have to be constantly prepared to fight or always aware of danger. Now, he could actually be himself. 

* * *

 

“Allura? Where are we going?” The young prince trailed after his older sister, glancing around occasionally and trying to figure out where they were headed.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” She answered with a grin.

“I hate waiting.”

“I know, dear brother, but I promise this will be worth it.”

Lance sighed, but didn’t break his stride. In all honesty, he was perfectly content sitting in the kitchen with his friends. It was absolutely wonderful; with Hunk making food, Pidge’s dry humor, and Keith soaking it all up with a child-like wonder.

The humans probably knew more about Keith than the Galra realized, after Lance had opened up to them about everything. Hunk was especially easy to talk to when it came to his feelings and the big guy was a comfort during times of stress. Pidge, on the other hand, was less of a talker, but sometimes that’s what Lance had needed. He often found the young human busy with her laptop in the same room Lance happened to be sulking in. Her presence alone was calming.

Seeing how easily the two of them got along with Keith eased a worry that Lance wasn’t fully aware he had. It was nice to know that his friends got along so well with his… with his…

What was Keith to him?

They were more than friends, that much was clear. Lance had never felt this strongly for someone before, and he didn’t just go around risking his life for anyone. Keith was special, Keith was important, Keith was his. It became clear in no less than two steps that what Lance felt for the Galra was love. The prince was in love with his bodyguard.

_Well, former bodyguard._ Lance thought idly. Labels didn’t really matter at this point, but Lance couldn’t help but feel like he was smack dab in the middle of one of Allura’s romance novels. He grinned at the thought.

It was clear how Lance felt, but the question remained: did Keith love him back?

Lance was fairly sure he did. After all, it wouldn’t be normal for Keith to suddenly kiss him. The prince thought back to their time together on Altea, when Keith was stoic and kept his distance. He wasn’t one to initiate physical contact with someone, and he would tense when someone touched him. The fact that he felt so comfortable around Lance spoke volumes about their relationship. At least, that’s what Lance believed.

The more the siblings walked, the more Lance’s mind decided to mess with him. Everything up until now was screaming at him that Keith felt the same way, that they would be happy together. But a familiar fear tugged on his feelings, making him doubt the facts. The fear that something would go wrong, despite all their problems being fixed.

Perhaps it was just the adrenaline, the panic, the fear. Maybe Keith being so comfortable with Lance was just due to the fact that the prince had promised to save him. Maybe Keith held him to some higher standard that Lance himself couldn’t live up to. Maybe… maybe all this would end, after the dust from the last battle had settled.

“Lance?” The prince looked up quickly, realizing that Allura had stopped a little way ahead of him. The princess looked curious and a touch worried. “Is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just… thinking about everything that’s happened, you know?” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but Lance left out the major source of his worry.

Allura smiled softly, reaching out and taking his hand. “I do know. Hopefully, this will help us begin to heal.”

“What is this exactly?” Lance looked at the unimposing door his sister led him to. There was nothing else surrounding them, just this door and the empty hallway behind them. Lance couldn’t even say that he recognized this place.

“While you were healing, Coran managed to finish restoring the drives.” Allura laid her hand on the panel next to the door. It slid open silently, nothing but darkness on the other side. The princess led her little brother inside, clasping his hand firmly.

In what Lance guessed was the center of the room, a wide holo projector rested on the floor with a small control tower in front of it. Lance felt his heart speed up.

“’Lura, is this what I think it is?” He didn’t want to get his hopes up quiet yet. She nodded.

“I waited until you woke up. I didn’t want to see Father without you.”

“F-father…?”

Allura placed her hand on the controls in a surge of light, the room changed. Juniberry flowers burst from the floor, growing right in front of their eyes and surrounding them in their heavenly scent. The meadow stretched out around them, trailing all the way to the base of the mountains far in the distance. Behind them, the glittering capitol city shimmered into existence, looking just as striking as Lance remembered.

“Hello, my children.”

Both Lance and Allura froze, their backs turned to the holo projector on the ground. After seeing their home spring to life with such clarity, the two had almost forgotten the real purpose of their visit.

Allura was the first to turn, her cheeks already wet with tears. “Father… oh Father, it so good to see you!”

“And you as well, my dear, Allura.”

Lance felt the first trickle of tears fall past his lashes, dripping all the way down to his shirt. The young prince turned slowly, all his breath whooshing out of him the moment he laid eyes on his late father.

“Lance.” King Alfor’s image was slightly distorted by the projector. His posture was too regal, too stiff, nothing like the casual demeanor he used with his children. But the fondness in his voice was unmistakable. It was the same voice that lulled Lance to sleep when he was young, that scolded him when he got into trouble. The same voice that took the time to encourage the young prince and tell him how special he was.

“Father…” Lance grinned, his hand reaching out to his sister and holding on tight. “I- I’ve missed you so _much_.”

“And I you, my son. I’m so proud of you. Proud of both of you.”

The two siblings sat and talked with their father for hours, holding each other tight and finally beginning to heal.

* * *

 The castle cycle transitioned from day to night. Keith felt heavy with contentment, his belly full for the first time in ages and his cheeks sore from smiling. Lance had flitted off somewhere with his sister during their meal, but Shiro replaced his company and Keith was overjoyed to be talking to his friend once again. Getting to see his former cellmate in such a different setting was strange at first, but soon enough they were chatting like old friends. There was an unspoken agreement between the two to talk about their trials aboard the Galra ship at another time. Keith may have been fine now, but the things that happened to him were still too fresh to fully process. When everything finally did sink in, he would need support, and so would Shiro.

The kitchen table was filled with people enjoying Hunk’s food and the human was so excited he looked on the verge of tears. After a while, Keith grew tired and Coran announced that it was technically night time.

Thace led him to a different wing of the ship, a place he actually recognized. The former bodyguard remembered walking down this hall with Lance ages ago, when the castle was still grounded on Altea. Keith once thought that it was a waste to have all these empty bedrooms, but now he was grateful for a space of his own.

“There are enough rooms in this place to house a small battalion,” Thace commented. The door slid open, the lights slowly brightening as they entered. The bedroom was bigger than any Keith had lived in before. His eyes skimmed over the soft-looking bed and to the bathroom door tucked in the corner.  There was a desk built into the far wall and empty shelves just waiting to be filled.

“This is… amazing.” Keith smiled.

Thace nodded. “A bit different from our days aboard Zarkon’s ship.”

“Very different.”

His uncle chuckled quietly, hands behind his back and posture stiff like he was still on duty. Keith guessed it must be harder for him and Ulaz to drop their military training. After all, they lived it for much longer than Keith had.

“Keith?”

“Mhm?”

“I just wanted to say that I’m… glad, we have the chance to get to know one another. I wanted to approach you for some time, but lacked the courage to do so, especially after Lira disappeared.” Thace was looking down, caught the memories of events long passed. “You remind me a great deal of my sister and having a piece of her is comforting, to say the least.”

Keith felt his heart swell at his uncle’s words. No one besides Thace had so much as mentioned his mother, let alone compared her to him. It was an incredible feeling being told that he was at least a little bit like his beloved mother.

The young Galra took a few steps forward and hugged his uncle firmly. Lance had worked some kind of magic on him, and now Keith felt the urge to initiate physical contact with others. Seven months ago, he would have run from the idea, but now it felt necessary. Thace hugged his nephew back, relaxing a little as he did so.

“I’m glad I get you as my uncle,” Keith said quietly. He felt Thace squeeze him a little tighter.

The tender moment passed, both Galra stepping back and talking over each other awkwardly as they navigated the unfamiliar territory of family. Thace left Keith on his own, explaining that his room was just down the hall if he needed anything. Almost instantly, Keith crawled into bed.

Despite being tired and well fed, going to sleep proved harder than he thought. Every time he began to drift off, some old fear would shock him back to alertness, leaving him to look around his bedroom with wide eyes. Keith wasn’t sure if it was the last few months of his prison time invading his thoughts or if it was his old training coming back to haunt him. Either way, Keith wasn’t used to sleeping through the night and trying was getting him nowhere.

As he lay on his bed, counting each second as it passed, Keith heard something. He concentrated on the sound, sitting up a little so that he could angle his ears better. It was coming from the room next to him. It sounded like whoever was in the room next to him was just as restless as he was.

The door to the other room opened and driven by his curiosity, Keith pushed off the covers and went to his own door. As he peaked around the corner, he saw Lance casually strolling down the hall. The young Galra felt his heart pound in his chest at the sight, even though Lance wasn’t even looking in his direction.  His mind decided to be kind to him and instead of seeing the prince with his injuries, he recalled the kisses the shared not so long ago.

Lance’s lips were just as soft as they looked and felt comfortably cool against his own. The little hum the prince made when Keith swept him up the second time set his nerves alight with giddiness, and all he wanted to do in that moment was hear Lance make that noise over and over again.

Keith watched Lance turn down the hall and disappear from sight.

Their relationship, whatever it was, was still confusing to Keith. He cared for the prince dearly, and Lance had told him time and time again that he cared for Keith too. But things had been so hectic and tense that, for a while, Keith never thought the two of them would get a chance like this. A chance to develop their bond.

Instinctively, Keith toyed with the earring that hid under his hair and came to a decision. He crept out of his bedroom without even bothering to put shoes on, and followed Lance.

The prince was easy to keep track of as he wandered aimlessly though the castle halls. Or maybe it wasn’t so aimless.

Lance didn’t hesitate once as he walked, turning the corners at an even pace and leading Keith to some unknown location. They ended up in a part of the castle that Keith didn’t recognize at all. Unlike the rest of the ship where he felt an odd sense of familiarity, this place was completely foreign. One final turn and Keith was frozen on the spot.

The hall was missing a wall and ceiling. Both were replaced with thick panes of glass that created a spectacular view of the stars.

“This wasn’t a part of the original castle. It used to just be a balcony, but it must have sealed off when ship took flight.” Lance had stopped right in the middle of the hall, his gaze focused on the endless space in front of him.

Keith strode over to join him, trying to figure out if he should look at the stars or the prince. After all, both sights were stunning. “You knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, didn’t you?”

Lance shrugged. “I had feeling. I didn’t really know what to do, but I remembered you have freaky good hearing. So I figured if you were awake, you might follow me here.”

“You could have just knocked, you know.”

“I know, but…” The prince’s eyes dropped, a strange cloud overcoming his features. “This was easier. You following me, taking the initiative. Guess I’m not as confident as I pretend to be.”

Keith blinked, dumfounded. “You… you were nervous? About me?”

“Yeah.” Lance sighed, his shoulders dipping. “Things have been so crazy and now that all of that is over, I kind of got into my head and started thinking about things. Thinking that all of— of _this_ was just… I don’t know, that it was just because of the stress or a way to cope with things. That all of it would fade after the fight was over.”

“Oh…” Keith felt himself deflate, his shoulders and ears dropping simultaneously. The rejection stung like no other wound could and Keith wasn’t sure if there was anything in the universe that could fix this horrible feeling. He shuffled away from the prince and tried to keep his composure. “I… I understand. I’ll— um, I’ll leave you alone now, if that’s what you want—“

“Huh? W-wait! That’s not what I meant!” Lance reached out and latched onto to Keith’s arm, holding him in place. “I don’t mean that… I don’t _want_ to… aw quiznak, I really need to think things through before I say them.”

The young Galra was even more confused now. Seconds ago, it sounded like Lance was rejecting him, and now the prince was nervously chewing on his lip like a child who’d just gotten in trouble.

“Lance…?”

“The earring,” the prince blurted out suddenly.

Keith tilted his head to the side. “What?”

“Th-the earring. When I gave it to you, I— uh, I forgot to mention something.” Lance relaxed his hold on Keith’s arm and let his hand slide down until it reached the Galra’s hand. He grasped it, weaving their fingers together. “Back on my planet, when one person gives another a piece of jewelry from their own collection it— it means something.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means that… that they would like to court them. That they like them… a lot. So when I gave that earring to you, I was kind of asking if you… if you maybe liked me too? I didn’t get to explain all that though, it was kind of overwhelming ‘cause, well I’d never done that before and well _you_ …  you were just so perfect and happy, and you _laughed_ and that was the first time I ever made you laugh before and—“

“Lance?” Keith tugged on the prince’s hand, effectively ending his rambling. Lance blushed, closing his mouth so fast it was actually audible.

“Uh… yes?”

“I love you, too.”

It took a few seconds for the words to sink in for the prince. He stared at Keith for a long while, blue eyes wide and his mouth just slightly parted in a funny little ‘o’. Keith waited patiently, taking this moment finally count the freckles that dotted Lance’s cheeks. The young Galra only made it to eleven.

A wide smile, bigger then Keith had ever seen, spread across the prince’s face. His eyes shimmered in the starlight and looked truly breathtaking.

“You… you do?”

Keith smiled back. “Yes. With everything I have.”

Lance leaped at Keith, his arms open wide and wrapping around his neck eagerly. Keith hugged the prince back, bending down just a little to fully embrace him. Lance giggled against the young Galra’s ear, tickling him ever so slightly. Keith ran his hand up and down the prince’s back and felt the fluttering rise and fall of Lance’s gasping laughs.

A few seconds later, Lance was pulling back so that the two were face to face. The prince didn’t waste any time and kissed Keith urgently. Their lips fit together seamlessly, finding their rhythm quickly. Lance hummed contently, that same noise from the first time they kissed that sent the Galra’s head spinning. He stepped closer, pressing their bodies together until it was hard to remember they were two separate people.

After a few sweet minutes, Lance pulled away, breathless. “Did… did you know that you purr?”

Keith’s eyes narrowed, his ears dropping to follow suit. “What.”

“You purr. Well, it’s not really a _purr_ , but you sometimes hum when we kiss and it, like, makes your chest vibrate, like you’re purring. Like Blue does sometimes.”

The young Galra sighed, rolling his eyes resting his forehead on Lance’s shoulder.

“Sorry, did I ruin the moment?” Lance chuckled softly.

“No. You’re just ridiculous.”

“Come again? I’m not the one with fluffy purple ears that only get fluffier after making out.”

“W-what?” Keith’s hands flew from Lance’s back and went to his ears, holding them down. “They— they don’t do that?!”

Lance was full out laughing now, a hand wrapped around his stomach as his shoulders bounced uncontrollably. The prince laughed and laughed, tears streaming down his face while his Galra companion was trying in vain to smooth down the fur on his ears. Keith gave up rather quickly, accepting his embarrassing fate. Still, even though it was at his expense, seeing Lance so carefree was worth it.

Eventually, the prince quieted down and sat cross-legged on the ground. Keith joined him, sitting close. Lance leaned into Keith, making himself comfortable as he rested his head on the Galra’s shoulder. The prince reached for Keith’s hand, turning it over and studying it intently. Keith let him, watching the way those long fingers traced the lines on his palm and bumped up against the calluses on his fingertips.

“You know, for a while, I was worried that this wasn’t going to be possible,” Lance murmured. “I tried to stay positive and everything but… every once and a while it just… I was just scared. That I’d lost you for good.”

Keith felt a slight shudder trail down his spine. “I… I felt the same way too sometimes. There was a while there where I thought that I wasn’t going to see you again. That I wasn’t strong enough to make it.”

“But we did make it, Keith. Somehow, we made through to the other side. Sure, we still have my planet to save, and being a paladin does kind of have its own responsibilities, but… I don’t know, I can’t help but feel like the hardest stuff is over. Yeah, we might run into trouble here and there, but it’ll be easy compared to everything we’ve gone through.”

“I think you’re right.” Keith laced their fingers together, squeezing slightly.

“Fair warning, I’m going to be super clingy for the next few quintents. Possibly longer.”

“Um, th-that fine.”

“Are you blushing?” The prince wore a playful smile, trying to catch Keith’s eye.

“No.”

“Your ears are getting super poufy again.”

“N-no they’re not!”

“Is this what happens when you get super flustered? ‘Cause I don’t remember that happening before.”

“ _Lance_ …”

“Hey, not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s possibly the most adorable thing in the universe.”

“I’m an elite solider, trained practically since I was old enough to walk. The word ‘adorable’ doesn’t really apply to me.”

“That what you think, pretty eyes.”

Keith actually choked on air. “P-pretty eyes?”

“Don’t try to hide from the truth.”

“The truth…? Well, if were talking about truths, your eyes are… they’re beautiful.”

Lance suddenly turned an alarming shade of red. “K-Keith! Keith, ah quiznak, you can’t do that to me!”

“Do what? Uh, Lance? You’re really red.”

The prince dramatically fell on Keith’s lap, covering his face with his hands and mumbling incoherently. At this point, even his ears were turning pink. Keith bit his lip, trying to keep the bubbling laughter from spilling out and embarrassing his prince even more. Finding out that Lance wasn’t too good at receiving compliments was absolutely delightful. For the amount of times Lance had managed to fluster the poor Galra with his words or touch, this was going to be his own little form of revenge.

Keith gently combed thorough Lance’s hair with his claws, lightly scratching here and there to try and soothe him. It took a while, but eventually the prince calmed down and dozed off. The young Galra sat there for a long time, watching over his prince as he slept peacefully.

Soon enough, Keith felt sleep pull at his own eyes and he carefully scooped up the prince and carried him back to his room. The former bodyguard tucked Lance into his bed, grinning as the prince instantly began hugging his pillow. Keith lingered for a little while, taking the time to commit the sight to memory.

As much as he would have liked to stay and curl up besides his prince, Lance had a very protective and very strong older sister. While Allura might have had a change of heart when it came to the Galra, Keith wasn’t about to test her boundaries. He shuddered, thinking of the catastrophe that would occur if Allura found the two of them in bed together.

Keith placed a kiss on Lance’s forehead before heading next door to his own room. He settled down into his bed, drifting off to sleep easily.

The next day came quickly, and Keith was already wide awake by the time the rest of the castle began to stir. The young Galra wasn’t used to sleeping more than a few hours at a time, but the quiet gave him plenty of time to think. In that time, he realized that he wanted to do something.

Keith hurried to the kitchen, eager to find someone before everyone else made their way over. By some miracle, Allura was alone in the kitchen, her hair tied up in a messy bun and slippers on her feet.

“Good morning, Keith. Did you sleep alright?” She greeted him kindly, sleep still heavy in her eyes.

“Yes, thank you.” Keith tensed up, suddenly unsure of himself. It wasn’t that he thought Allura wouldn’t help him, but rather asking for help like this was unfamiliar territory for the Galra. Most of his life, he had to solve his own problems, to varying degrees of success. Reaching out to someone, putting his trust in them, it was still a little difficult for him to do. Keith took a breath, refocusing on his goal.

“Princess, I was wondering if you could help me with something. Something for Lance.”

Allura suddenly perked up. “Oh? And what will I be helping with?”

Keith removed the earring from it spot. “I was wondering if you could help me make something like this for Lance? Since the other one was destroyed, I’d… well, I’d like to make one for him.”

The princesses eyes were wide, a familiar-looking smile on her face. The two royal siblings were nearly identical when they were excited. “Of course I can help with that! Come on, I have a few ideas.”

Allura grabbed Keith’s arm and practically ran out of the kitchen with him in tow. Keith hadn’t expected this much enthusiasm from the princess, but considering she was related to Lance, he should have expected at least something like this. While the princess was more subdued and all around more regal, she was still young and vibrant, much like her brother.

Keith waited outside her room while she changed, and, when she emerged she had a handful of jewelry she no longer wore. Allura marched through the castle, stopping momentarily in a room and came out with a small tool box. The princess led him to a longue of sorts and placed her haul on the table.

They sat on the floor around the table, comparing the other gems of the jewelry to Keith’s earring. The princess picked apart the various pieces with pliers from the tool box. After going back and forth and debating about color, the two finally came to an agreement. Allura instructed Keith on how to make the earring, sitting on the opposite side of the table while the Galra clumsily held the pliers in his hands. While the princess could have finished the task in half the time, Keith wanted to make this gift himself.

It took much longer than it should have, and Keith nearly broke the clasp the managed to salvage, but finally it was done.

The purple gem they found was round, different from the tear drop shape of the original earring. It was also smaller, which prompted Keith to add another. It was an amber jewel, half the size of the other one, and sitting atop the purple gem. The two stones complemented each other well, and Keith flushed when Allura asked him why he chose the amber stone. He just reasoned that it was nice, but in truth it was because his eyes were nearly the same color and the night before Lance said that they were pretty.

Most of the morning had now passed and Keith realized that they had unknowingly hidden from the rest of the castle residents.

“We better go find everyone before they send a search party out for us.” The princess chuckled, gathering all the scraps of their little project and dumping them in the tool box.

Keith cradled the gift in his hand, smiling. “Thank you for your help, your highness.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Honestly, I’m glad that we had this time to get to know each other a little better. I haven’t exactly been the kindest to you in the past.”

“The circumstances were different. And… well you had a good reason to hate me.” An old guilt weighed on his mind. It was hard to believe that at one point, Keith had orders to kill Lance. Orders that he was going to carry out before he got to know the prince.

Allura placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up. “Well I don’t hate you anymore. You are very kind, Keith, and brave. I can’t even begin to imagine all that you’ve gone through.”

“It was… a lot.”

“Just remember, if you ever need anything like you did today, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re a team now, we’re your friends. You can rely on us.”

“T-thank you, princess. I… I don’t know what to say.”

“No need to say anything. Now, don’t you have somewhere to be? I’m sure you’ve noticed, but my brother is an impatient little thing.”

Keith had actually forgotten. “Oh! Uh, I guess I’ll go find him then. Thanks again, princess.”

“You’re very welcome.”

The young Galra hurried out of the lounge and began the arduous task of tracking down Lance. He managed to bump into Pidge and Ulaz along the way, both of them returning from a late breakfast. With their help, he managed to find Lance in the control room, scrolling through the star map with Coran.

“There you are, Keith.” The prince lit up when he spoke, turning towards Keith. “I was beginning to think Allura locked you in a closet somewhere.”

Keith frowned. “Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know. Little brother dating a big scary Galra; it’s like the worst case scenario for an older sister. I’m sure you could take her though.”

“I doubt it. If your sister and I got into a fight, I can almost guarantee that she would win.”

In the background, Coran chuckled. “She most certainly would.”

Lance threw a look at the advisor, pouting his lips and crossing his arms. Keith laughed, covering his mouth with his free hand.

“Um, Lance? I was actually wondering if I could… talk to you? A-alone?” Suddenly, the young Galra felt very nervous.

Lance nodded and said a quick goodbye to Coran. The prince followed Keith out to the hallway, making idle chatter about the food Hunk made that morning. Apparently, the human had made something called a ‘smoothie’ that everyone went crazy for. Keith made a mental note to ask Hunk for some next time he saw him.

Once they were a good distance away, Keith stopped and turned to Lance. The prince stopped talking, taking in the serious expression on the Galra’s face.

“Hey… is everything alright?” he asked cautiously. “Did Allura actually shove you into a closet?”

“No… no she actually helped me with something. Something— uh— important.” Keith grimaced, trying to figure out why most conversations with Lance turned him into a stuttering mess. Hopefully he’ll get over this one day.

“Oh, really? What’d she help with?”

Keith clenched the earring he made in his hand, taking a deep breath as he did so. The Galra practically shoved his closed fist into Lance’s chest, slowly uncurling his fingers and revealing the gift. Keith hid his gaze beneath his bangs, warmth already growing on his cheeks.

“…is this for me?” Lance asked quietly.

“Yeah… I made it for you. With your sister’s help.” Keith finally peeked out from under his bangs and glanced at the prince. “You gave me yours after the other one broke and I… well I wanted the both of us to have one again. It’s not quite the same color, and I added another gem to make it look a little bigger but, um… well I hope you like it.”

“Of course I like it!” Lance scooped up the earring and quickly put it on. He grinned once it was in place, launching himself at Keith.

The Galra caught him easily, a little taken aback at how well this was going.

“Thank you, Keith.” Lance’s voice was practically a whisper against his ear.

“You’re welcome.” Keith tightened his hold on the prince, hugging him firmly.

“Hey, Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Lance.”

The prince kissed Keith’s cheek before untangling his limbs from where they were wrapped around his partner. “C’mon, let’s go get you some food. Then I’m going to take you to the pool and see if Galra can swim.”

“Of course I can swim, Lance.”  Keith rolled his eyes, following close behind his prince.

“There’s a difference between swimming and splashing, y’know. Anyway, we’ve got to enjoy this little relaxation time before tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What’s happening tomorrow?”

“Didn’t ‘lura tell you anything? We’ve got important Voltron stuff to do tomorrow. After all, we still have a Red Lion to find.”

In the back of his head, Keith heard a feint roar, calling him from some unknown location. Red’s excitement only grew when Keith realized that he’d finally be able to see her again in person. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

“Lead the way, your highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a fluffy end and I hope I came through. 
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking with me through this story! I was a wild and angsty ride that was so much fun to write. I did leave the ending kind of open so you all can imagine what other adventures these space boyfriends embark on :D
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, and kudos! I'm so happy to see that people like this story. Well, until next time!
> 
> See ya!


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